Mysteries of the Majoshikons
by MeganePurinko
Summary: "There's much more to it, but listen... dark energy has always existed somewhere in some place..." Part of TD storyline and companion to LiF. OC-centric. It's up to the Ojamajos to solve the mysteries of the wretched gems as well as the Shinoya girl.
1. The First Bittersweet Move

"There's more to the story than you're telling them, Yuki-chan," the queen stated with a sigh, shaking her head back and forth. Her sapphire blue eyes would have looked sad and a bit disappointed if Yuki herself was paying enough attention to her expression instead of looking firmly away with her arms folded against her chest the way that they were. "Majoaku is officially on the move now... what do you plan on doing about that, exactly? I don't suppose that you plan on telling everyone the truth..."

"Joou-sama, be reasonable! There's not really much else to say to Doremi-chan and the others other than what you just said right? R-Right..."

_I have to remind myself over and over again that I was the one who brought this on myself so I really ought to have no real complaints about anything no matter what really happens to anyone... But of course, it's never that easy... It was never that easy... but... I trust the girls a little now... shouldn't that be enough as it is?_

"You need to be more in depth otherwise it will be difficult for those girls to understand... you are all friends, aren't you? Shouldn't you be more willing to assist them now more than ever before?" Joou-sama frowned, her head tilting to the side with that inquiry as the black witch could only gulp before letting out just one shaky laugh, shaking her head back and forth as the Majokai queen herself had done earlier. "It's really so difficult that you can't even talk about it?"

"Joou-sama..."

"Well? Is that it or is it not it? You need to be much more specific than just that, Yuki-chan."

Shinoya clenched her fists at the thought before taking a deep breath and looking straight at the older woman.

_Not being easy... is that supposed to make it automatically difficult? It's just a shame that even I myself don't quite understand... but it I were to just come up with something to call it even if it wouldn't be my exact idea of it... But right now, there's really nothing to even say to that other than just calling it..._

"Don't ruin the magic of a mystery, Joou-sama! Let me just have my fun!" Yuki exclaimed cheerily before rushing out of there, waving all the while with the widest grin that she quickly forced on her face.

"Let's just not talk about it, later? Bye-bye~! I hope that I see you again and soon... not by myself, of course! Later, Joou-sama!"

_I really do wish mysteries weren't so hard to figure out just like this one will be for sure..._

(Note: And what's the opening? It's "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" by supercell. Yes, yes...)

(Footage: There are flashes of each of the Ojamajos smiling brightly and winking, finally ending on Poppu waving as the logo pops up letter by letter, accented by musical notes and hearts.)

_Are ga DENEBU ARUTAIRU BEGA_

_(They're "Deneb," "Altair," and "Vega")_

(Footage: There are several images of the girls working at the Nanimokamo Mahou-Dou in the starry night sky.)

_Kimi wa yubisasu natsu no daisankaku_

_(You point them out as the Summer Triangle)_

(Footage: Saiki points out the constellations and curiously turns to a Yuki wrapped up in blankets; she blushes in surprise.)

_Oboete sora o miru_

_(I remembered when we looked at the sky)_

(Footage: The two of them slowly look back up as we pan up to the smiling moon.)

_Yatto mitsuketa Orihime-sama_

_(I finally found Orihime-sama)_

(Footage: Doremi and the other girls are seen furiously searching through the shop for something they lost while Meme and Lala look at each other along with an exasperated Majorika.)

_Dakedo doko darou Hikoboshi-sama_

_(But I wonder where Hikoboshi-sama is)_

(Footage: Majoren sips at her tea as her boys run about, Kazuo chasing furiously after a laughing Kazuki while Naoki is casually planting daisies on Akio's cakes while the goldenrod-haired boy is turned away, doing the dishes.)

_Kore ja hitoribocchi_

_(That makes me feel lonely)_

(Footage: Oyajide sighs sadly out the window only to fall backwards, earning the FLATS 5 to look at him oddly while in the midst of some sort of discussion.)

_Makkura na sekai kara miageta_

_(From the pitch black world, I looked up)_

(Footage: A shadowed witch is seen observing things from a crystal ball and it reveals Yuki smiling and laughing with Doremi and Kurumi on the way to school as the black witch soon perked up and glances upwards.)

_Yozora wa hoshi ga furu you de_

_(Stars were falling in the night sky)_

(Footage: Majoren, Majorika, and Joou-sama are seen beaming as they extend their hands as all the girls grab their majoshikons and transform all together, posing happily.)

_Itsukara darou kimi no koto o_

_(How long do you think I've been here?)_

(Footage: They all fly upwards into the sky with wide grins as Yuki holds out her hand and beams as Doremi flies right by and waves just before the two witch apprentices laugh towards one another and there's a quick flash of Misora Junior High.)

_Oikakeru watashi ga ita_

_(Me chasing after you?)_

(Footage: Saiki perks up just as Yuki glomps him as the rest of the Ojamajos show up along with their counterparts, giggling.)

_Dou ka onegai odorokanai de_

_(So, please, don't be afraid of me)_

(Footage: Poppu soon pushes her way through into the group just as Doremi looks surprised to see her younger sister there but smiles anyway and Meme flies in onto her owner's shoulder and glares at a rather confused Saiki that still has the blonde's arms wrapped around his neck while Yuki grins and nuzzles holds Meme closer, much to the fairy's delight.)

_kiite yo watashi no kono omoi o_

_(Just listen to these feelings of mine)_

(Footage: We soon pan across the magic users and then outwards up until Majorika and Oyajide stomp into the picture along with a chuckling Majoren, earning the Ojamajos in the center to all sigh as Yuki releases Saiki and a picture is snapped, showing the girls all grinning with peace signs at the camera.)

* * *

><p>And this is that second installment that is long overdue and should be done by now... I fail. Big time.<p>

But better late than never! I'm just glad that I can finally get to the dramatic action and adventure... It's really nice... I just hope that I don't somehow manage to ruin everything.

Though like I said, this is the second installment of Ojamajo Doremi Tomo-DACHI, or TD as I shorten it, and there will be many new things... such as new abilities, new issues, and even a new character or two possibly showing up! Teasers will come later and you'll see soon enough.

Also, enjoy this atmosphere while it lasts.

**Disclaimer:** This isn't canon. _Ojamajo Doremi 16_ is.

* * *

><p>Ojamajo Doremi Tomo-DACHI:<p>

_Mysteries of the Majoshikons –_

_The First Bittersweet Move_

"So when's Majoaku going to strike exactly? This isn't just some prank that the other witches pulled off because they thought that it would be funny right? Because that wouldn't be cool..." Moriko groaned as she lied down on the side of the indoor flower bed, hardly caring less if dirt got into her dark green curled pigtails. "I mean, we haven't seen or heard any new information in like... ever. This is just downright insulting and I want answers, darn it! I want to fight for my world already and all of Mother Nature! This just isn't fair...!"

"Moriko-chan, this is just the calm before the storm... of course something's going to go wrong soon once we let all of our guards down so that's why we must always be on our toes no matter how long it takes!" Akemi chastised her, waving her finger in the most childishly scolding fashion. "Impatience won't get us anywhere... and patience really is a virtue so we need to be patient no matter, er... what happens! We must be patient, alright?"

"Eh... if you say so, Akemi-chan... of course, that's still a little hard to believe if you think about it... it's almost a little unfair and rude still to keep us all waiting on the bad guy... don't the antagonists of this story have any standards? I mean, if _I_ wanted to destroy the world, I'd do it as quickly and as environmentally-friendly as possible!"

"How would you even manage that?" Kurumi wondered, sighing. "Destroying means obliterating, devastating, annihilating, terminating, demolishing and _boom_. You now lack an earth _and_ environment."

"Maybe I would just extinguish all _humans_! Ever thought of that?"

"Leave that to the aliens, Mori-pon." Yuki laughed, flicking her wrist. "But don't worry... Majoaku... will surely show up soon. She likes waiting as much as I do, even if she's forced to wait."

"By the way, Yuki-chan, you've mentioned that Majoaku is a dark witch that wants to cover the world in darkness, la-ti-da, the works... and yeah, it's cliché. Do you know what her motive for all of this is because it's actually really... boring? Yeah, it's boring." Kurumi smiled sadly, folding her arms. "Do you know what reasons she could have for doing this, Yuki-chan?"

"...Well, for starters, Kurumi-chan... I don't really know much. But I do know one thing... Majoaku... wants everyone to be possessed by her dark magic, so that's what she has the aku majoshikons for. The aku majoshikons are like our majoshikons, only tainted with dark magic that immediately corrupts the host and runs rampant." The black witch took out her musical note-shaped coal-black majoshikon, holding it up high as it started to glow. "Actually, that's what our majoshikons are like because they're the exact opposite of the aku majoshikons. You use these to purify the dark jewels with your usual spell followed by an exclamation of 'purification'! If you are able to completely override the dark magic within the aku majoshikon then you purify them!"

"Is there a certain number of these so-called evil gems?" Aiko asked, curiously folding her arms. Yuki nodded in response.

"Yes, but I don't know how many. They all also act as gates to an invisible world known as the Yamikai, which is where Majoaku resides. Once we open that gate, we can face against Majoaku herself and she's like one big aku majoshikon! But she should be weakened if we purify enough of her aku majoshikons..."

"So aku majoshikons corrupt their host... that means..." Akemi's eyes jolted wide in horror. "A-Anyone we know could be corrupted right?"

"This is like a bad mixture of the Bad Cards we collected with Oyajide and the former queen's curse... and I thought those were bad enough..." Doremi murmured sadly as she folded her arms. "Wait... Can anyone be corrupted? Akatsuki-kun and the others... Majoren-san's boys... Can anyone who uses magic be corrupted?"

"No, I don't think they're necessarily powerful enough. Aku majoshikons react towards the magical aura that all beings possess. If you actually use magic, you have a strong bond with that magical aura and it makes you too difficult to take over... Humans on the other hand that don't use magic have a closed bond between that aura and their heart... It's easy to possess them so that's what aku majoshikons are usually after." Shinoya frowned, looking down sadly and ruefully. "What that means is that..."

"Our friends at school are under risk of getting possessed as long as they're around..." Hazuki murmured, eyes wide behind her glasses as light reflected off the lenses. "I-In that case, Yuki-chan, what are we supposed to do before it's too late?"

"Our majoshikons act for radars in case an aku majoshikon just so happens to pop up, and a similar radar was also installed into Hana-chan's compact courtesy of her royal majesty... But sometimes they're all dormant so you can't even let down your guard because aku majoshikons easily sneak past that first line of defense!"

"But what if we encounter an aku majoshikon on our own and end up being unable to purify it on our own?" Momoko asked, worried. "I-I mean... surely we have some sort of means of communication with one another."

"That's still being worked on as we speak, Momo-chan, so don't worry so much about it, alright?" Shinoya winked. "And I think that's all we need to know right now for the moment... So, in order to completely ignore this tense atmosphere right now, I say we get cake from Hiromi-nee-san's! She just came up with a new recipe and I really want to try it and also... Asami-chan might be there!"

"Nomiya-san?" Akemi wondered shakily. "B-But Yuki-chan, the aku majoshikons... w-we mustn't be too careless... you said that yourself."

"We can still enjoy ourselves all the same, Akemi-chan... Don't worry so much! It's not good for you."

"Ya jus' don't worry enough, Yuki-chan," Aiko sighed while Moriko nodded disapprovingly in agreement. "Ya really need to be more careful unless yer fine with somethin' happenin' that yer gonna regret."

"A-Ai-chan..."

"Hana-chan wants to try Nomiya-san's cakes so Hana-chan would like to go," Hana announced, drawing everyone's attention as the white witch beamed. "It... It sounds really delicious!"

They all smiled at her as Yuki's smile slowly faltered.

* * *

><p>"Yuki-chan and her friends are here... Welcome!"<p>

"Yuki-chan, I knew you'd make it!" Asami exclaimed happily as she ran up to the black witch. "See nee-chan? You were worried for no reason whatsoever!"

"Heh, heh... Asami..."

"Nomiya-san and, er..." Hiromi smiled lightly at Doremi, earning her to flinch a bit. "H-Hiromi-san?"

"Call her 'nee' just like we do, Doremi-chan!" Yuki laughed brightly, wrapping an arm around a giggling younger Nomiya. "Or you can just call Asami-chan by name as well!"

"Asami-chan it is," Momoko amended as she turned to Hiromi and beamed. "Hiromi-nee-san, can you teach me how to make some of the cakes that you do? I would love to share some with my good friend Akio-kun..."

"I can only give you one recipe... I need to stay in business after all and I'd prefer it if you didn't use my style for your own cute little magic shop that Asami told me so much about. I apologize."

"N-No, that's fine! I would never use someone else's personal recipe for my own profit! That's stealing in America!"

"It's also stealing in Japan," Moriko commented, earning Akemi to gasp lightly. "Don't give me that look, Akemi-chan. You know it's true!"

"B-But Moriko-chan, that's just... You can't speak with a tone like that... It's so rude..."

"You're too _paranoid_!"

"So... what's the snack anyway?" Aiko finally laughed along with Hazuki giggling a bit cutely just as Hiromi merely smiled. "Thank ya, though, for yer kindness..."

"It's nothing. Anything for Yuki-chan and her friends.

Then the door opened and the older Nomiya instantly perked up. "Oh, welcome! Allow me to just take you order and make your sweet..."

"Akari-chan?" Hana wondered as Kamizaki Akari blinked twice in surprise before just squealing and beaming ever so brightly. "Akari-chan, it is you~! Hana-chan didn't expect to see you at a place like this!"

"Kamizaki?" Asami asked, blinking twice in confusion while Momoko grinned and headed up to the red head, taking her hands. "You're in a different class though, aren't you? I guess that it's only to be expected that I'm not quite sure who you are..."

"Akari-chan, it's good to see you outside of school! How are you?" Asuka asked, reverting to English out of habit though she faltered when she saw how anxiously confused Kamizaki looked. "Oh, um... I mean... How are you doing right now, Akari-chan? I hardly ever see you, so I just, um..."

"I-I'm fine, I just... Asuka-san... I didn't expect to see you here... I mean, I know Shinoya-san comes here often but we hardly ever speak since she's always in such a big hurry and she hardly ever notices that I'm even there it seems... even though she's so close to the older Nomiya-san..."

Yuki perked up in surprise at that before laughing sheepishly, rubbing at the back of her neck in slight embarrassment at this new discovery that she really hadn't noticed until before all of this happened. "O-Oh, I... Sorry, Kamizaki! I didn't know and I was always pumped to get Hiromi-nee-san's cakes and I always have so much energy that I never want to just sit down..."

_But I guess that I really should pay closer attention to my surroundings from now on!_

"O-Okay, it's fine, I just... um... Can I have anmistu with extra pomegranate, Nomiya-san?"

The black witch perked up in surprise as Akari walked past her and looked hopefully up at the older girl, eyes glimmering as she smiled shyly. "I, um... I've really had a craving for pomegranate, so..."

"I hate pomegranate."

Everyone perked up and Kamizaki flinched as she turned around to face a frowning and pouting Shinoya, eyes glimmering in surprise. "W-What..."

"I mean, it's a depressing fruit that ensnared a poor innocent girl that was taken from her mother! Whether it means a good connection or not is a different matter entirely... It was still the pomegranate that incased the world in a terrible Ice Age! At least, that's what it meant for Greece and it was a sad thing that dyes your hands all red like blood..." The black witch giggled lightly, skipping close as a shadow overcastted over her face. "If you want to keep returning to a world reeking of death and misery though, feel free to eat as many pomegranates as you want... I'll be sure to pity you just like Persephone-san, alright?"

"Shi... Shinoya-san..." Akari murmured fearfully, eyes wide just as Yuki suddenly clapped, startling her before the blond removed her hand, revealing a strawberry in her palm. "H-Huh? I-Ichigo?"

"A strawberry is pure and really nice on the other hand so you'd be better off with an ichigo rather than a pomegranate. It's a fruit of love that is sure to make you happy if you just eat one~!" With that, she laughed and placed the strawberry into the other girl's hand, smile widening even more. "Spring's much better than winter... it's a lot warmer and prettier because of all the flowers so I suggest you try these instead for your own good."

"Huh?"

"Hiromi-nee-san, I'm just going to take a cheesecake to go alright? I just now realized that I needed to visit someone else soon and this is a little important so I want to help real fast~!"

"Oh, uh... alright, Yuki-chan... sure thing."

The rest of the witch apprentices blinked and Asami looked just plain confused while Akari stared at the strawberry, eyes glimmering and heart pounding as she soon frowned.

* * *

><p>"KAZUKI-KUN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"<p>

Akio was shaking by the time Yuki opened the door and came in, the other Ojamajos tentatively followed after her, having been invited at the last minute.

"Akio-kun, I'm sorry, I just... It looked like so much like and... OW NOT THE EAR!" Kazuki wailed as the goldenrod-haired boy yanked on his ear, growling darkly with his eye twitching. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll do... I'll do your laundry, clean your room, rub your feet, anything~! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME, AKIO-KUN! WE'RE BEST FRIENDS!"

"YOU BLEW UP MY OVEN! NOW HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BAKE FOR MAJOREN-SAN?"

"M-Magic?"

Ever the eager to please, Naoki slid on his wristband, snapped his fingers and without a moment's hesitation, the oven was as good as new. "There you are, Akio-kun. Now you can make all the baked goods that you want~"

_And now you can make me as many snacks as I want! Finally, for once... I get to be Akio-kun's favorite! That means so many really good stuff like paella, cocktail, chicken doria, fruit agar, vegetable potage, and... and...! I'll win every single argument with Akio-kun on my side!_

"That was my idea, Naoki-kun..." Sasaki sniffled just as Akio stood there, eyes glimmering before he smiled brightly at Nakamura like a relieved child finding a lost toy.

"Thank you, Naoki-kun..."

Naoki grinned.

_I'm officially Akio-kun's favorite now!_

"Well, that's certainly interesting." Yuki commented idly, earning the three boys to snap up in surprise, all staring at the girls in shock. "I mean, I thought you were supposed to make Majoren's life easier... not blowing up her kitchen, whether you fix it up again or not... By the way, what's the deal with the wristbands anyway?"

"They're what allow us to do magic. Majoren –san specially designed these with a strand of her hair so that we are able to cast spells... We don't, however, take exams or anything since we're not 'witch apprentices' so the queen allowed Majoren-san to fashion these and we're supposed to show that we're capable and competent with magic," Akio explained quickly as he held up Naoki's wrist with the same wristband. "We can only use a certain amount of magic when we have these on... and it's not unlimited. There are several either black or white markings and it is twenty five spells that we can use in total. The amount o f markings equal the amount of spells we can use. It takes a lot of practice in mind and spirit to cast a spell correctly. Though every so often, we break our wristbands and as a result, we have to buy new ones..."

"Interesting," Doremi noted. "I didn't know that you could do that..."

"Well, I sure as hell am not wearing a dress. I like my pants and regular clothes very much, you know," Kazuki stated, rubbing his abused ear. "How are you able to even stand it, Hana-chan?"

"Hana-chan thinks Kazuki would look cute in a dress just like Hana-chan does!" Hana chirped with a bright and sparkly innocence that had her counterpart recoil in horror while Naoki burst out laughing at the interesting mental image of such a thing. "What? Does Kazuki not think that way as well?"

"Hana-chan, please keep those thoughts to yourself..." Kurumi giggled lightly, patting the white witch's blond hair. "I think Kazuki-kun is turning a rather unhealthy shade of purple right now."

Kazuki himself was started to feel light-headed with the amount of blood rushing up to his face from the humiliating comment.

"Anyway, Moriko-chan~!" Naoki purred, strutting up to the immediately defensive florist, taking her hand. "Kazuo-kun is out getting the groceries this go around, and... hey, let's get to know each other a bit better since you're now a guest in our house..."

"Put down my hand if you wish to keep your pinky."

"How about I make you all something to eat? I was actually going to just make rolled sandwiches so I hope that's alright..." The goldenrod-haired boy smiled sheepishly and Momoko quickly jumped in.

"Hey, let me help you! There's ten of us and plus your four equals fourteen so I should make some sandwiches for you as well, Akio-kun! I won't take no for an answer so let's just work together!"

"Oh, um... if you say so..."

Shinoya grinned to herself.

_As expected, those two get along great._

* * *

><p>"Your house is messy, empty, boring, dull, and worst of all... <em>there's no garden<em>!"

"I-I'm sorry about that, Moriko-chan, but..."

"Urgh! I should have brought some seeds with me... The landscape... It could be beautiful! It should be cherished... it's _nature_, dang it!"

"I-I'll get right on planting!"

"Moriko-chan has Naoki-kun wrapped around her finger like he's her pet or something... I wish I could do that," Kazuki commented, lying down on the couch while he tossed a ball up over and over again in his hand. "It would be so much fun... fooling Naoki-kun into doing all my work, but he's best friends with Kazuo-kun and not me... what's so great about Kazuo-kun anyway? He's dull, boring, and a _smarty-pants_!"

"Hakuta-san... is quite smart..." Akemi murmured softly, frowning a bit. "But, he is also rather... strange, I suppose. There's really no other way to put it."

"Aren't ya smarter than he is though, Kazuki-kun?" Aiko wondered while Sasaki tossed his ball to a delighted Hana only for her to return it just as playfully. "I mean yer brilliant aren't ya?"

"My parents would have stuck me in an asylum if I wasn't. Weird, huh? History tends to work the other way around but those two wouldn't be able to _stand_ the idea of their son being normal..." The youth's grin faltered as he received the ball, leaning back even further into the couch cushions with a lazy smile on his lips. "They would electrocute my brain until it got to working amazingly. Average? Oh, no, that's _unallowable_... he must be freaking _brilliant_ or he's not our _son_."

"What do you mean by that?" Hazuki's voice shook just a little and her glasses fogged up. "K-Kazuki-kun..."

"Kazuki?" Makihatayama, sensing his distress, scooted close to him, caramel eyes glimmering worriedly. "Hey... it's okay."

_What kind of parents did he even have?_ Doremi wondered, covering her mouth in surprise and shock at his words_. I mean, my parents may like it if I score high points, but just because I'm a little below average, that's never meant to them that something was wrong with me..._

Yuki and Kurumi merely traded stares and Kazuki pushed himself up, tilting Hana's chin up with his forefinger. "The past is never really the past and life is life. Don't worry about it, Hana-chan."

The white witch yanked herself away, squealing with a furious blush on her face. "Kazuki, you meanie~!"

"Don't mess with her like that! Do you even know what those actions imply, Kazuki-kun?" Onpu scolded, waving her finger at them. "You should be more careful!"

"...Yeah! Listen to onee-sama!" As usual, Yuki was eager on racking up brownie points with the purple witch.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

* * *

><p>"So, Akio-kun... You know Akari-chan loves sweets, right? We saw her earlier in <em>Amai Yume<em> with Nomiya-san and her older sister."

"Alright. That's interesting. Nomiya-san's older sister is very impressive, right?" Akio kept his eyes focused on slicing the ham. "Kamizaki-san can be amazing too when she wants to be..."

Momoko nodded along, mixing the cream cheese and sour cream. "So, you can use magic with wristbands... Does Dera-san ever visit you?"

"Yes, we have to pay for this house after all... Majoren-san needs to work a lot as a result... but we take care of the house for her so it's okay." Akio paused for just a moment. "I wonder... if it's enough though..."

"If it's enough?" Asuka repeated in confusion. She then gasped when Yoshida lightly nicked his thumb with the knife, hurriedly grabbing napkins. "A-Akio-kun, you need to be more careful...! Are you alright? You're bleeding..."

"No, I just needed a bit of release... excuse me. It's just me not paying any attention." Akio smiled at her sadly. "I made mistakes like this so often before... Kazuki-kun always got so on edge whenever it happened but I didn't give up even when my parents wished that I would have..."

"...Your parents?" The yellow witch repeated in confusion, holding his hand tightly as she squeezed to compress the wound. "Akio-kun..."

_His hand... is really warm... but it's also rough... I wonder... Wait..._

She yelped and snapped back, finally noticing the many scars and cuts on his fingers, confusing him a bit. "Momo-chan?"

"Akio-kun... your hands... they're..."

"Oh. These are... proof of my mistakes. Sorry. I wasn't kidding when I said that I made mistakes like those often before... But at least they're small and not at all noticeable right?"

"Akio-kun... you don't..."

"...Don't what?"

She couldn't say it. "I... sorry..."

"Huh?"

"I-It's nothing..."

_He doesn't... cut himself 'by accident' often, does he?_

* * *

><p>"Well, weren't you and Akio-kun getting cozy or what? Momo-chan, you're so lucky! Akio-kun's a really nice guy you know..."<p>

"Yuki-chan... did you ever notice his hands?"

"His hands?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What about them?"

"...It's nothing..."

* * *

><p>"Mother, you don't get scars from simple nicks, do you?"<p>

"No, otherwise, my hands would be covered from all the paper cuts I've gotten." Minori beamed, giggling slightly as her daughter squirmed. "What's wrong, Momoko? You should know that, shouldn't you?"

"...Do chefs have scarred hands?"

"Only if they were very clumsy with a knife and made deep cuts. Why? Did you see someone...?"

"Uh... no... no."

_Akio-kun's not clumsy with a knife at all... he's one of the most focused people that I know...! He's not... making mistakes like that on purpose is he? That can't be right... Akio-kun is Akio-kun... He's calm, collected, and very level-headed! I-I... I must be going paranoid here... Oh my god... the idea of Akio-kun hurting himself though..._

"Momoko?"

"I already said it's nothing, mom!"

* * *

><p>"Hey~! Kamizaki~!" A brown-haired boy purred with a wide grin, leaning onto the cherry-haired girl's shoulders, earning her to flinch. "What's up? I thought you were too sick to come today... Your mom said that when I came to pick you up..."<p>

"Fujita-kun, I just wasn't feeling well so I slept in! My bad!" she protested, blushing quite darkly now. "I'm sorry if I worried you but I'm just not in the mood to be messing with you right now!"

"...What's going on? You've been acting weird for far too long, Kamizaki and it's just not like you." Fujita's eyes narrowed. "I mean, it's weird enough that you ignore me when I ask if we can go home together since we're neighbors and all, but now you've started walking _to_ school without me and I just don't get it. Why are you avoiding me?"

Akari couldn't answer. "I-I... I've just been so busy... I'm sorry..."

"Is it because I confessed to liking you?" Fujita frowned sadly. "You said that it wouldn't get in the way of our friendship, Kamizaki..."

"It won't... it won't... I just..."

"Do you like someone else?"

"...Yes..."

"...Who?"

Kamizaki sniffled.

* * *

><p>"Yoshida-kun, there you are!" she exclaimed just as she caught Akio and Momoko together, chest tightening up just a bit. "Um... About club practice... for the Cooking Club, I mean... we're going to try and learn how to make pasta, alright? Is that fine? It's just a few special dishes that Nomiya-san suggested and it seems like a good idea..."<p>

"Oh, that does... Italian's really nice after all..." the goldenrod-haired boy mused while Momoko kept a close eye on his hands, taking in every crisscrossing faint scar that would have been easily missed if you weren't paying enough attention. "What do you say, Momo-chan?"

"O-Oh, uh..." Why did she feel so short of breath when he smiled at her like that anyway? It sure was weird and...was her heart pounding right now? It must have been out of anxiety ever since she figured it out... at least, it should have been. "Sure thing, Akio-kun."

Akio beamed and then nodded towards Kamizaki. "Alright. I'll be sure to try my hardest."

Akari couldn't help but smile gently, heart pounding with a faint blush on her face.

"T-That's great..."

* * *

><p>"Saiki-kun, are you sure we can't walk home together this time?"<p>

"Stop asking. Please."

"But Saiki-kun, you haven't even given me a good reason to why you've refused yet! At least give me one of those so that I know if I haven't done anything wrong... I mean... Akatsuki-kun's already agreed to walk Doremi-chan home! Fujio-kun, Leon-kun, and Tooru-kun all said they had others things to do and you hate being alone almost as much as I do! Why can't we walk home together?" Yuki puffed her cheeks, pouting. "You're so mean and so unreasonable! I don't even know what I did wrong this time!"

"I... I just need to be by myself and I can't do that if you're trailing after me like you always do... I'm sorry Yuki-chan, but not today."

"It's the best chance though! We'll be together, right? I'll be lonely on the way home... won't you be lonely too...?"

Saiki paused and smiled sadly.

"You have friends. Walk with them."

With that, he turned around and walked away, leaving the still fuming and disappointed black witch as she slumped.

"But... you're a friend too... and the one I'm in love with... idiot..."

"Oh, Shinoya-san?"

Shinoya perked up in surprise and spun around, blinking at the sight of a lightly blushing Akari. "Oh, um... Kamizaki, right? I gave you a strawberry... a while ago."

Kamizaki nodded. "You... You're alone too, right? Miyagi-san already said she had somewhere important to go and... you live in the same direction as my house... or at least on the way... I was wondering if I could walk with you and we could get to know each other a little better... See, Asuka-san always talks about you and so does Makihatayama-san... and I..."

"It's fine. I don't mind but you'll have to lead the way since I'm terrible with directions and all that. Sorry, Kamizaki."

"It's nothing... really."

_(Eyecatch: The Ojamajos all give each other a high five and it passes on until Yuki misses one hand, earning her to perk up in surprise. The Ojamajo that's revealed to have missed her high five is a confused looking Momoko who just smiles sadly.)_

"So you like cooking don't you? You're in the cooking club along with Momo-chan and Hana-chan so of course you do! Ha-ha..."

Akari nodded lightly, just listening along to the black witch's rambling without knowing why and it felt strange. She just saw the blond by herself and figured she might as well ask her if they could walk home together. Was it supposed to be this awkward though? She didn't like it at all even if Shinoya was seemingly utterly oblivious to it.

"So, Kamizaki, do you have any siblings? I'm an only child so I don't... actually have any. In fact, out of all of us... Only Doremi-chan and Akemi-chan have a brother or sister. It's really weird... I've never met Akemi-chan's older brother Daisuke-san but Doremi-chan's little sister Poppu-chan is just the cutest thing! I want to take her home and pamper her so much that she'll feel utterly smothered!"

Did she ever shut up? Even Fujita never talked this much even when they were kids and his interests were more in the muddy dirty games and sports that she herself wasn't too fond of.

Akari ignored the blonde's pointless prattling with the most part though she felt a little bad about it. After all, _she_ was the one that offered to walk home with her in hopes of having someone that she could talk to, not the other way around. Yuki probably wasn't even paying attention to whether or not she was listening so where was the harm in it?

Still, she should have seen this coming when the snow-named girl started ranting about pomegranates in the middle of nowhere before performing some sort of strange magic trick and making a strawberry appear with a bright grin and a laugh, offering her the sweet red fruit.

What did she even hope with getting accomplished with this girl anyway? For more advise only with people and not fruit? Kamizaki Akari was clearly kidding herself.

And then she spotting something sparkle in the corner of her eye and she stopped dead in her tracks, turning back to investigate.

"Huh? Kamizaki?"

Kamizaki disregarded her and dropped to her knees in the high grass, parting the strands to find a small white gem that couldn't have been longer than her thumb. Her eyes widened as she grabbed the jewel and stuffed it in her pocket.

"Hey, Kamizaki, that's the wrong way and even I know that!" Yuki exclaimed after her, earning a flinch as she stood up, whirling around to face the black witch's rather worried expression. "Hey... what's wrong? You know, you need to talk to me sometimes too because a one-sided conservation isn't really as fun as you'd think that it would be...!"

"...I have nothing to say."

Yuki perked up in surprise and confusion, blinking a few times before just nodding shakily. "O-Oh alright... whatever you say..."

_What just happened...?_

* * *

><p>Something was definitely wrong with Kamizaki Akari. She wouldn't look at anyone, say anything, and she seemed completely far away and distant while in the midst of cooking rather then stern, focused, and confident like she always was.<p>

Asuka Momoko would have frowned and been more concerned about her if she wasn't still focused on her counterpart's scarred fingers. It wasn't that she didn't care about her cherry-haired classmate, oh not at all... it was just that Akio's problem seemed serious and well... She had Miyagi Izumi, didn't she? Izumi was a bit protective over her like Moriko was over Akemi and that was fine, wasn't she? So if Akari really needed anyone to talk to, she had Izumi...

...right?

"Akari-chan? Which spice should Hana-chan use?" Hana chirped. Kamizaki's finger's twitched and she wouldn't turn her way, annoying the white witch quite a bit. "Hey, Akari-chan, Hana-chan asked a question and the least you can do is answer it!"

"Oh, forget her, Hana-chan," Kazuki instantly coaxed, wrapping an arm around the younger girl's skinny shoulders with a playful smile on his lips. "She's been acting weird all day so we might as well give her some space..."

"Fi... fine..."

"Kamizaki-san, are you alright?" Akio finally asked worriedly. Akari perked up and stared at him, a smile slipping across her lips as she soon nodded.

"Yeah, um... maybe you could work with me today instead of Asuka-san... Yoshida-kun...?"

_Wait, what?_

Momoko felt her heart tighten as Yoshida smiled and nodded simply and this was _not_ happening. Akio had worked with her every single day ever since he got here! Why did that have to change anyway? Akio was _her_...

...hold on a minute. Why was this even a problem to start with? She didn't mind! Hana worked with Kazuki every day instead of her, so heck, why couldn't Akio work with others if he wanted to?

"You don't mind; do you, Momo-chan?" He smiled back at her and his charisma was practically getting to her with how he made her feel a lot calmer than she should about this right now.

Her heart was still pounding as she forced a wide smile and gave him the thumbs up.

"S-Sure! Go for it!"

_My god, this is just unbelievable... first I can't stop thinking about him after seeing all those scars and now I can't even accept the idea of him wanting to work with someone else? That's just not like me at all, I mean... seriously? And what's the deal with Akari-chan anyway? And... Wait just a moment!_

Her eyes soon widened, taking in the sight of Akari placing her hand tenderly on his arm, smiling lightly and almost coyly... a complete not-Akari gesture.

"Is she... hitting on him?"

"Hitting on whom? Where's the fight? I wanna see, I wanna see!" Sasaki chirped, hopping up while Hana still attached to his arm before blinking at the view of her friend and his classmates, lips forming a small 'o' as he soon sighed. "Wha...? Akio-kun, you wouldn't ditch me for some girl would you? That's not cool, dude."

"Kazuki?" Hana wondered in confusion only for her counterpart to flinch and quickly grin.

"Oh, it's nothing big, Hana-chan. Now come on... let's blow something up."

Momoko only frowned.

* * *

><p>"Akari-chan! I need to speak with you!"<p>

"Huh? Ooh, Asuka-san, what is it?" Akari smirked from where she was conversing earlier with Miyagi, earning the other girl to just perk up and grimace. "Are you going to tell me to lay off Yoshida-kun?"

"W-What? No, I just wanted to talk about Akio-kun..." Momoko protested, blushing quite fiercely. "I mean, I didn't know that you liked him..."

"And you don't?"

"I-I do like Akio-kun, of course! He's a very good friend of mine and I admire his cooking and baking skills a lot... He's just... yeah... that's it."

"Whatever you say, though it doesn't change a thing... I'm not going to lose against you, Asuka-san."

And with that, Kamizaki turned heel and walked away as the yellow witch's shoulders slumped.

"But... Akio-kun and I aren't even like that though..."

"That's not Kamizaki," Izumi growled, grabbing her attention. "I don't know who she is, but she is definitely not Kamizaki... What's her deal? Kamizaki's charm was always her modesty!"

"Miyagi-san...?"

"I ought to get to the bottom of this," her classmate continued, ignoring the American completely. "Asuka, if you find anything out... please don't hesitate to tell me about it, okay?"

"O-Oh, uh... alright."

"Great. Thanks."

_I wonder what's wrong with Akari-chan... Miyagi-san's right, too... She's not acting like the Akari-chan that I know at all..._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Yuki-chan? Don't you have practice today?"<p>

"Natsu-sempai started work today so she showed up to make an extra nice first impression on the guy... Tachibana-sempai taught us some extra basics but then she got a call from her family and thus, she had to leave early... it kind of sucks."

Yuki huffed as she huddled closer into the corner, hugging her knees with a light blush on her face as she pointedly frowned, grumbling quite a bit about the whole situation itself. "It's really unfair... I was going to completely wow Sayaka-chan today and I didn't even get to! I can't even practice because it's locked... I want to be a decent archer, darn it!"

"I'm sorry... by the way, you remember Akari-chan right? You gave her a strawberry..."

"I also walked home with her... it was completely pointless by the way. I didn't make a breakthrough, she didn't even talk to me and frankly it was a waste of my time! I didn't even get to learn anything about her! On walks home that are supposed to get to know each other better, that was a complete fail Momo-chan. It was so much fail that it was a success in its own failure."

"Yuki-chan, that doesn't make any sense at all..." Momoko murmured as she seated herself beside the black witch. "And that wasn't the point that I was trying to make at all..."

"Oh really? What was your point then?"

"...Come with me." The yellow witch took her arm, confusing Shinoya quite a bit.

"Uh..."

"I need to show you, Yuki-chan."

* * *

><p>"Yoshida-kun, you're really talented! You're really, really talented!"<p>

"Oh really? Thank you, er, Kamizaki-san..." _I don't really think that way though..._

"Is she supposed to be like that?" Asami wondered, confusing Iwano and Kawasami. "This is just getting weirder and weirder..."

Kazuki refused to acknowledge the entire situation and distracted himself by making up new guessing games with Hana, much to the white witch's delight.

It was a good thing the Majokai princess was never able to read the atmosphere or assess the situation itself.

"...See?" Asuka demonstrated as the two watched from the window, much to the other blonde's shock. "Akari-chan has been attached to Akio-kun like that all this time and it came out of nowhere..."

"B-But... Akio-kun is supposed to be in complete love-love with..." Yuki shot the yellow witch a meaningful look, earning her to squawk in protest. "This is unacceptable! Kamizaki already had a perfectly good thing going on with that kid Fujita!"

"Huh? Fujita-kun? I know they're friends but honestly Yuki-chan, just because a guy and a girl happen to be friends... it doesn't mean that they're automatically going to fall in love..."

"What? But they have chemistry and they click and my love-love senses always go off around them and I'm an expert Momo-chan, I know what I'm talking about...!"

Silence.

"That and I heard Fujita confess to her once."

"_WHAT_?"

"Hey, do you mind? Asuka-san, if you're not going to be doing any work today at the cooking club like you're supposed to; I'd appreciate it if you just leaved..."

The two girls froze at the sight of Kamizaki standing there, hands on her hips. Yuki blinked and suddenly her bag twitched and she yelped, rummaging through it.

"You shouldn't have any electronic items on while present on school grounds... should I tell the principal?"

"I-It's not... a... my mistake!" the black witch babbled, much to Momoko's confusion as she clasped her hand around her majoshikon in her bag, forcing it to stop blinking as she felt her nerves seize up with the new revelation. "Excuse me, Kamizaki."

_There's no doubt about it... an aku majoshikon is finally active... and it's active on Kamizaki! I'm sure that it is..._

Akari made a 'tch' sound. "Whatever. Shouldn't you go bother Fukutaki-san or something?"

Yuki felt her eye twitch just a bit at the reply.

_Ooh, what a rude, rude response! She's definitely possessed if she thinks it's okay to act like that! But I don't have time to alert Doremi-chan and the others so I'm just going to have to rely on Momo-chan this go around!_

"Actually, Kamizaki, I was wondering if me, you, and Momo-chan here could talk for just a moment! See, it's really important and..."

"Sure thing." Why did she seem so smug? Momoko was just really confused and inwardly, Yuki was seething.

_I'll teach Majoaku to possess fellow students! Even if it's not the last time, it's definitely not going to be accepted either way!_

"Um, Yuki-chan? What are you doing?"

"Just hold up with me on a minute here, Momo-chan. It'll all make sense eventually... hopefully."

And while Asuka looked utterly lost, Kamizaki was self-satisfied.

* * *

><p>"Can't risk anyone walking in on us now can we... and it's getting dark out, too," Yuki stated as she locked the door and soon growled, taking out her majoshikon and presenting the musical note stone, much to the yellow witch's shock. "Let's get this over with."<p>

"Y-Yuki-chan! What are you...?"

"Momo-chan, grab your majoshikon now and just check it! Don't ask questions because this will only make things last longer you know!" Shinoya exclaimed as she waved her hand over her majoshikon, causing it to glow as she transformed. _"Ojamajo Yuki, change!"_

With that, it floated up into the air and shined brightly, surrounding the blond in its light as she spread out her arms.

"_Puriti Wichi Yuki-chi!"_

She didn't hesitate on clapping her hands, causing the mini majoshikons to appear on her wrists as she quickly pointed to Akari.

"_Pururunu pikapikan chanchii... Dark spirit inhabiting Kamizaki Akari-chan's body... begone!"_

With that her spell flew forward towards Kamizaki who stood there calmly, smirking widely as dark energy slashed out around her and cancelled the black beam. "Is that really all you have, Shinoya-san?"

"A-Akari-chan, you're not..." That's when Momoko finally grabbed her own majoshikon, feeling it vibrate and glow against her palm, staring at the red head in shock before a look of confidence and anger spread across her face in a scowl. "That's _unforgivable_!"

She pulled out her gem, waving her hand over it swiftly. _"Ojamajo Momoko, change!"_

"_Puriti Wichi Momoko-chi!"_

"Momo-chan, this is our very first aku majoshikon that we really need to purify alright? But it's not that easy! First, we have to dispel the dark spirit inside the host and purify it... but we have to weaken her quite a bit before we can manage that so be sure to wear her out as much as possible!"

The yellow witch nodded in understanding. "Right."

"Doremi-chan and the others aren't here right now and frankly, we don't have the time to go chasing after them... So you have to rely on just me for the moment..." Yuki felt herself blush with the confession. "But, er... this is for Kamizaki's sake, isn't it?"

"...Yes..." _Akari-chan... How did I not notice that Majoaku was doing this to you but there must have been a reason for everything... why you were hitting on Akio-kun...? I don't think that it was just this evil influence forcing you to do all that..._

"Dance, witch girls," Akari giggled suddenly and soon she was swinging her hand and causing an earthquake to shake the building beneath them, causing the two girls to fall to their feet.

"N-No..." Shinoya gasped out. "There are still... people in the school!"

Momoko's eyes shot wide in horror.

* * *

><p>"Take cover everyone!" Akio yelled as they all dived under desks, shaking as Kazuki held Hana close. "It's an earthquake!"<p>

"Why wasn't I told about this earlier on the news?" Nomiya wailed as Kawasami and Iwano held each other close to protect the other. "Darn it, stupid unreliable Misora news!"

"H-Hana-chan's scared!" the white witch wailed, burying herself even more into Sasaki's chest, causing the navy-haired boy to soon blush, blinking with surprise and disbelief. "Kazuki~!"

"W-Whoa... settle down there, Hana-chan..." he murmured, petting her back as gently as he could while everything was shaking apart, hoping that his heart was pounding right then because of that...

* * *

><p>"DON'T INVOLVE OTHER PEOPLE, YOU RECKLESS COWARD!" Yuki exclaimed as she tackled the red head, much to Kamizaki's surprise as she was wrestled to the ground and the two struggled with one another. "If you hurt Saiki-kun while he was inside the school with that little move of yours, I'm not going to forgive you!"<p>

"Yuki-chan, she can use dark magic, be careful...!" Momoko exclaimed sharply as she moved to try and help the black witch before stopping and noticing strangely enough that whatever energy that was sparking off Akari was being absorbed into the other girl without any harm whatsoever like throwing and tossing rocks into a black hole. "Huh...?"

"Momo-chan, what are you doing? I got her still so hurry up and begone the dark spirit from her!"

"O-Oh, right...!" Asuka gasped as she clapped her hands, wondering why her heart was beating and thumping so harshly when the earthquake was already over._ I wonder what the deal with that was... but it's probably nothing big..._

"_Perutan petton pararira pon... Dark spirit inhabiting Kamizaki Akari-chan's body... begone!"_

Akari screamed and fell limp and unconscious as the spirit was extracted for her and Yuki didn't hesitate to point, the tip of her finger glowing brightly.

"_Pururunu pikapikan chanchii... Purification!"_

With that the dark spirit was constricted by light and faded away, leaving behind a white gem that soon spun into the black witch's hands as she tightened her grip onto it and held it close with a light sigh.

"And that's purification complete."

"...Yuki-chan, was that how it was supposed to go? Really?" Momoko wondered a bit shakily as she approached the other slightly younger girl, making her perk up in confusion. "That was just so strange that I..."

"Momo-chan..."

"..._Urm_..."

The two flinched as Akari stirred underneath Yuki as Shinoya quickly removed herself from the cherry-haired girl just as her eyes opened to see the black and yellow witches looming over her in their usual school uniforms, both of them looking quite worried.

"Shinoya-san... Asuka-san?"

"Ka... Kamizaki...?"

"Akari-chan, are you okay?"

"My head..." she whined lightly as she sat up, holding her head with a sniffle. "What just happened? Why are we up here? Am I not supposed to be home? Is it school already?"

"Oh no, short term memory loss! It was really strange, Kamizaki... you were just all woozy and stuff... Momo-chan wanted to talk to you and so I'm here for moral support up here on the roof and then there was a five second earthquake and I think you hit your head! I'm just glad you're awake and not in a coma... man, that was just so weird but at least no one got hurt... I think." Shinoya giggled and Kamizaki blinked drearily. "By the way, I think Miyagi's worried and you've been in a bad mood lately... You haven't had pomegranate today have you? Have a strawberry instead... did you already eat the one I gave you?"

The other girl blushed lightly at that, remembering how that same strawberry was still in a plastic container in the fridge of her house. "I... I'll get around to it..."

"Do you like Akio-kun?" Momoko suddenly burst out, earning the two students to stare at her, Akari looking horrified as the American continued, taking a deep breath. "B-Because if you do, that's alright... Akio-kun is... a good guy and he's really nice..."

"...Aren't you and Yoshida-kun dating though?"

"No, we're just friends... I'm still getting to know him so it's fine if you like him, Akari-chan... it really is..."

"Momo-chan..." Yuki began softly as Akari blinked once and smiled lightly, nodding.

"Thank you, Asuka."

* * *

><p>"Kazuki-kun? Are Akio-kun's hands supposed to have those scars?" Momoko asked just as Kazuki was putting away the bowls, watching the boy's back flinch as he stared back at her in surprise, eyes glimmering. "I mean, I looked at his hands and it's like he was really clumsy with a knife but... it could just be because he messed up one too many times as a child..."<p>

"...Momoko-chan, Akio-kun's... a little strange... but rest assured, he's calm and composed now." Sasaki smiled a bit sadly, shrugging. "I just hope that he stays that way, yeah? I suggest you wait until Akio-kun wants to tell you. Our past is very personal you know?"

"But..."

"KAZUKI~!" Hana exclaimed as she rushed in, tackling her counterpart to the ground. "Thank you for protecting Hana-chan during the earthquake!"

"Ha-ha... It's nothing, it's nothing..."

Asuka stood there in silence as the navy-haired boy's attention was now completely on the white witch and she thought to herself a little.

_I wonder..._

* * *

><p>"Doremi-chan, we can have a discussion at the Mahou-Dou once we get there right?" Yuki wondered to the pink witch just as they grabbed their bags and prepared to head home, much to Doremi's confusion. "It's about that earthquake..."<p>

"Oh yeah... Ichimiya-san was the one comforting everyone and Serika-chan just sat there."

That sounded like Akiyama alright but it was also beside the point.

"Alright, alright... But it's important! We may need to include..."

"Doremi-chan, Yuki-chan, have a nice day!" Akatsuki exclaimed just as he and Saiki passed them by, earning the Harukaze girl to quickly go lovey-dovey eyed, eagerly wishing off her counterpart as well. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Akatsuki-kun~!"

"Saiki-kun, bye..." Yuki murmured softly as the black-haired wizard turned back and gave her a simple wave as he continued walking with his brother, much to the blonde's dismay. "Okay..."

_I guess it just can't be helped..._

* * *

><p>"So you sure that you're alright, Kamizaki?"<p>

"Um, yeah, Miyagi-san, thank you for asking..."

"You just lost your memory so suddenly, yeah? At least you didn't forget anything important and if you need any notes, you're always free to just borrow mine."

"I know, I know..."

"Hmm..." Izumi hummed before wrapping an arm around her classmate's shoulders, grinning widely. "But I'm glad that you're still here and fine, you know? It's really good... I was worried that you might have changed forever or something..."

"Changed forever?"

"Yeah, when you're already fine the way you are now!"

Akari felt her face heat up, vaguely remembering what Asuka had said a few moments earlier.

"_Because if you do, that's alright... Akio-kun is... a good guy and he's really nice..."_

_Yes, Yoshida-kun is very... admirable... but I wonder how she even figured that out... Fujita-kun doesn't even know that the one I like is Yoshida-kun... then again... I don't even know how I'm supposed to tell him about that..._

"Oh, Kamizaki? Miyagi?"

Kamizaki flinched as Miyagi stopped in confusion, turning to face a lightly smirking Fujita with a look of curiosity on her face before she turned exasperated. "You. Don't you have anything better to do? We just got out of an earthquake all unharmed and it's supposed to be going back to a fairly normal day, ya know."

"I just wanted to check on Kamizaki... I thought something was wrong with her today or something..." Fujita shrugged, smiling a bit sadly. "I mean, she was just acting a bit strangely and..."

"I was?" Akari wondered aloud, eyes wide. "B-But... But I don't remember anything... what's going on? What even happened on those past few days anyway?"

"It's nothing serious, Kamizaki, really... Fujita Hiroyuki, you just shut up alright? This isn't a good time and we're about to go home so you can just pester us on Monday since tomorrow's a Sunday and everything... What are you doing Sunday anyway, Kamizaki?"

"Oh, uh, Miyagi-san... I was just going to, um... I..."

"I should have expected this, of course... I'm actually surprised that I didn't... but oh well, right?"

"Huh? Fujita-kun?"

Akari's eyes widened in slight surprise as Hiroyuki turned around, giving her one last friendly wave as he walked away from her.

"Best wishes to you, Kamizaki."

_Wait a minute..._

"He's a really weird guy, huh Kamizaki? One minute he wants to pester you and then he leaves for no reason whatsoever... that's really strange, isn't it?" Izumi folded her arms with a heavy sigh as she turned to her classmate whose eyes now seemed wide and utterly blank. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Oi, Kamizaki?"

"O-Oh, no," Kamizaki stated quickly as she blushed darkly, hands rushing up to her face as she gulped. "I just... um... I was just agreeing with you silently, Miyagi-san..."

_I may be able to communicate freely with Asuka-san now... but nothing changes how strained Fujita-kun and I are when we're supposed to be best friends only because everything's just gotten all complicated and I just don't know what to do... I don't know what to do at all..._

* * *

><p>Finally in the safety of her home, Akari took out the plastic container, opening it to hold up the strawberry Shinoya had given her.<p>

"_A strawberry is pure and really nice on the other hand so you'd be better off with an ichigo rather than a pomegranate. It's a fruit of love that is sure to make you happy if you just eat one~!"_

She took a bite.

"It tastes sweet..." she murmured, shutting her eyes sadly. "But it's a little bittersweet."

_-Until Next Time-_

(Note: The first ending is "Hoshi Ni Negai Wo" by Chieco Kawabe. Heh-heh!)

_Mado no soto wa yotei tojikometa ame_

_(Outside the windows, it's the rain that blocked my plans)_

(Footage: It's seen to be raining outside as Yuki is shown to be watching with a sad look on her face as she sighs, looking down at where she's holding a note with an ai-ai gasa of both hers and Saiki's names.)

"_Kyou wa gomen, to ka omou nara mukae ni kite"_

_("If you're sorry about today, come get me,")_

(Footage: Yuki frowns only for Doremi to tap her shoulder, making her turn around and receive a white rain poncho, earning her to blink in confusion. Doremi merely grins and winks.)

_Iitai kedo dame da..._

_(I want to say, but it's no use...)_

(Footage: Shinoya looks at her poncho again and soon beams up happily.)

_Hoshi ni negatta sono yume wa_

_(Though the dreams wished upon a star)_

(Footage: Hana jumps happily into a puddle while the other girls run after her, all decked in ponchos of their trademark color save for Yuki wearing the white one Doremi had given her.)

_Hitotsu hitotsuzutsu kanau no ni_

_(They all came true one by one)_

(Footage: Moriko stops to admire the flowers just as Akemi grabs her arm and Hazuki wipes off her glasses only to make them more blurry while Aiko laughs good-naturedly.)

_Anata ni chitto mo oitsukenai_

_(You're the one I couldn't catch up to at all)_

(Footage: Onpu and Kurumi look up with bright grins just as Momoko joins, all of them soon just laughing.)

_Hoshi ni negatta sono yume wa_

_(Though the dreams wished upon a star)_

(Footage: Poppu jumps onto Hana's back and the white witch gives her a piggy back ride while Doremi follows after the two protesting rather loudly. Yuki giggles at the sight.)

_Hitotsu hitotsuzutsu kanau nara_

_(They all came true one by one)_

(Footage: Rain continues falling down into the puddle while the black witch stands there beaming, chuckling a bit more only to suddenly fall backwards into a mud puddle.)

_Anata ni mottomo chikazukitai_

_(You're the one I want to get the closest to)_

(Footage: Yuki winces and frowns sadly, pouting as she shuts her eyes and sniffles until a hand is offered to her, and she perks up, looks up and smiles brightly and happily, eyes sparkling in complete relief.)

Next time on Ojamajo Doremi Tomo-DACHI:

_Yuki: Okay, so we need a few more tools to use against Majoaku..._

_Doremi: To think she could really possess someone with that kind of magic... it's almost unreal..._

_Hazuki: I just can't get use to the idea..._

_Aiko: Same here..._

_Momoko: But we have to protect our friends from Majoaku, right?_

_Moriko: Of course! And I'll protect Akemi-chan like always..._

_Akemi: Moriko-chan, I'm not that delicate..._

_Hana: Hana-chan will help too!_

_Kurumi: So what now? Mon ami, what's Majoaku's purpose here anyway?_

_Onpu: Do you even know that, Yuki-chan?_

_Yuki: Uguuu... It's a long story, you know..._

_Everyone: Please just explain!_

_Yuki: We're going to need a better story teller than me though~! Mou~!_

_Doremi: Next time on Ojamajo Doremi Tomo-DACHI!_

_Yuki: Another mystery! "Story Of Evil"! And remember, friendship comes before everything and always treasure it!_

_Kurumi: If you want to rely on your friends, you have to be reliable too, right?_


	2. Story Of Evil

"Majoaku wasn't always a dark, horrible witch, you know... I remember a time when she was a regular witch just like the rest of us..."

The old witch sat back and rocked in her chair, brushing the teal hair from her eyes as normally sharp emerald eyes twinkled sadly with regret and memory. She soon reached down and adjusted her leaf-shaped crystal, shaking her head. "She was a very admirable and quick one, too... She always drove through the Majokai without a care in the world and her laughter rang out across the land... but she was a little stupid too, so it really couldn't be helped..."

"Majoaku... was a normal witch like Majorika? And Majomonroe?" Momoko looked a little awed at this discovery, reaching up to take her chin in thought. "I wonder what happened to her..."

Yuki winced at the innocent thought though this went unnoticed by everyone else.

"Hana-chan wonders what her name was..." Hana giggled, tugging on one of her golden ponytails with a wide grin. "She sounds like she must have been a really interesting woman!"

"The thing that darkness does to corrupt others... it's hard to believe that Majoaku was really like that... Though in all honesty, that description sounds a little familiar, to be honest..." Kurumi mused as she shot a meaningful glance towards Shinoya though the black witch didn't react in the slightest. "But are you sure that that's the case, madam?"

"Yes, of course I do... I lived in the same area as that energy-filled girl... She always wanted something more, something adventurous... it's almost a tragedy that instead of justice, fate gave her..." the witch started coughing uncontrollably and Moriko and Akemi instantly rushed to her side, confused and worried.

"D-Do you want me to get you a cup of water or something?" Suzuki wondered, sapphire eyes glimmering in concern. "I mean, that was a pretty bad cough so I just..."

"Come on, calm down... you should know that you shouldn't overwork yourself, right?" Takahashi continued, rubbing the old witch's back as if she was tending to an elderly grandmother. "You really need to be more careful..."

The woman huffed, shaking her head back and forth. "No, I'm fine, thank you."

"If you say so..."

"So what's more to the story anyway? How did Majoaku really become evil? Was she really just corrupted by dark magic? Was she really just the first one to have that happen to her?" Aiko asked, eyes wide as she continued asking questions until Hazuki grabbed her shoulders and shook her head sadly.

"Ai-chan, just let her finish on her own..."

"Oh, fine, Hazuki-chan... But I still wanna know!"

"Can you really believe any of this though, Doremi-chan? It's a little hard to believe... but it makes a lot of sense..." Onpu commented. "Yuki-chan, you knew this much in the very least though, didn't you?"

The black witch smiled sadly and shrugged. "W-Well, I never knew Majoaku's actual name, but I knew she was a witch first, of course..."

_Because... Majoaku is..._

"S-So what's her real name?" Doremi burst out, unable to take it anymore. "What was her real name, Majomichi-san?"

Majomichi merely smiled sadly.

"Before she was Majoaku, she was one person and one person only to me and to everyone else."

The girls all waited on the edge of their seats.

"That is, we'd call her Majo... Ruriko. Also known as Majoruri."

(Footage: There are flashes of each of the Ojamajos smiling brightly and winking, finally ending on Poppu waving as the logo pops up letter by letter, accented by musical notes and hearts.)

_Are ga DENEBU ARUTAIRU BEGA_

_(They're "Deneb," "Altair," and "Vega")_

(Footage: There are several images of the girls working at the Nanimokamo Mahou-Dou in the starry night sky.)

_Kimi wa yubisasu natsu no daisankaku_

_(You point them out as the Summer Triangle)_

(Footage: Saiki points out the constellations and curiously turns to a Yuki wrapped up in blankets; she blushes in surprise.)

_Oboete sora o miru_

_(I remembered when we looked at the sky)_

(Footage: The two of them slowly look back up as we pan up to the smiling moon.)

_Yatto mitsuketa Orihime-sama_

_(I finally found Orihime-sama)_

(Footage: Doremi and the other girls are seen furiously searching through the shop for something they lost while Meme and Lala look at each other along with an exasperated Majorika.)

_Dakedo doko darou Hikoboshi-sama_

_(But I wonder where Hikoboshi-sama is)_

(Footage: Majoren sips at her tea as her boys run about, Kazuo chasing furiously after a laughing Kazuki while Naoki is casually planting daisies on Akio's cakes while the goldenrod-haired boy is turned away, doing the dishes.)

_Kore ja hitoribocchi_

_(That makes me feel lonely)_

(Footage: Oyajide sighs sadly out the window only to fall backwards, earning the FLATS 5 to look at him oddly while in the midst of some sort of discussion.)

_Makkura na sekai kara miageta_

_(From the pitch black world, I looked up)_

(Footage: A shadowed witch is seen observing things from a crystal ball and it reveals Yuki smiling and laughing with Doremi and Kurumi on the way to school as the black witch soon perked up and glances upwards.)

_Yozora wa hoshi ga furu you de_

_(Stars were falling in the night sky)_

(Footage: Majoren, Majorika, and Joou-sama are seen beaming as they extend their hands as all the girls grab their majoshikons and transform all together, posing happily.)

_Itsukara darou kimi no koto o_

_(How long do you think I've been here?)_

(Footage: They all fly upwards into the sky with wide grins as Yuki holds out her hand and beams as Doremi flies right by and waves just before the two witch apprentices laugh towards one another and there's a quick flash of Misora Junior High.)

_Oikakeru watashi ga ita_

_(Me chasing after you?)_

(Footage: Saiki perks up just as Yuki glomps him as the rest of the Ojamajos show up along with their counterparts, giggling.)

_Dou ka onegai odorokanai de_

_(So, please, don't be afraid of me)_

(Footage: Poppu soon pushes her way through into the group just as Doremi looks surprised to see her younger sister there but smiles anyway and Meme flies in onto her owner's shoulder and glares at a rather confused Saiki that still has the blonde's arms wrapped around his neck while Yuki grins and nuzzles holds Meme closer, much to the fairy's delight.)

_kiite yo watashi no kono omoi o_

_(Just listen to these feelings of mine)_

(Footage: We soon pan across the magic users and then outwards up until Majorika and Oyajide stomp into the picture along with a chuckling Majoren, earning the Ojamajos in the center to all sigh as Yuki releases Saiki and a picture is snapped, showing the girls all grinning with peace signs at the camera.)

* * *

><p>This title is so based off of the actual Vocaloid 'Story Of Evil' story with the Kagamine twins that it's not even funny. But I really like the Kagamine twins... Len's adorable and Rin's really precious. I prefer Len though, heh... But Rin-chan's bow is just so cute... But big bows are always cute... it's kind of the reason why Yuki herself wears a bow on her head, yeah?<p>

And what? A background story to the dark witch already that many of you would have probably already known? Yeah, I'm just going to jump into that... though Yuki's connection to Majoaku will be told much, much later...

But really, if you've read any co-op stories, you should already know all of this. Sorry if it bores you, but this is a different universe entirely. So things are going to happen a little differently for obvious reasons.

* * *

><p>Ojamajo Doremi Tomo-DACHI:<p>

_Mysteries of the Majoshikons –_

_Story Of Evil_

"Akiyama-san, that just doesn't look very safe but if you say so... Oh no, smoke!" Kotone coughed heavily as she inhaled some of the gray smoke, fanning herself. "W-We're... We're going to set off the fire alarm, aren't we?"

"Crap, not again... Akiyama-san, can you please refrain from burning your potions? We're already on high-alert because of events like this! If we continue, the principal is going to forcibly dissolve the Magic Club!" Akane whined, flailing her arms about in exasperation. "And this is just starting to get fun!"

Serika only blankly stared at Doremi who flinched at the empty-eyed gaze. "W-What is it, Serika-chan? I didn't do anything, I swear...!"

"Okay Harukaze-san, what did you do?" Reina asked, crossing her arms as she glared at the red head, earning a slight whimper from the other. "You didn't eat one of the ingredients did you? Or put something in there that shouldn't have been in there?"

"I... I might have knocked the red stuff in there..."

"HARUKAZE THAT HAD ESSENCE OF FIRE IN IT! It AUTOMATICALLY makes things burn! It's for burning spicy foods only!"

"...Why do we even have something like that anyway Reizei-san?"

"Because I'm a pyromaniac and it's so much fun setting things on fire," Reizei deadpanned, shrugging before shaking her head disdainfully. "You really need to be more careful."

Doremi only groaned. Kotone blinked twice and blushed lightly, sighing.

_Harukaze-san... is such a strange girl... and I'm only saying that because I've gotten used to..._

She glanced towards Serika, earning the mute girl to stare back indifferently and a smile twitched at Tsukino's lips.

_Akiyama-san..._

* * *

><p>"Sayaka-chan, you're so cute~!"<p>

"S-Shinoya-san... off me... please..."

Natsu's eye twitched as she watched the brunette struggle with the blond draping her arms around her, giggling against her back as she was dragged across the floor.

"Is her relationship with Shidoosha-kun suffering that much?" Nishimura groaned, glaring at the sight. "If only she'd be that clingy towards me..."

"Shinoya-san's just so cute," Rika murmured, blushing lightly at the sight. "She's just too strange and eccentric..."

"S-Shinoya-san, please! I can hardly work like this!" Ayamiya finally cried out, unable to take it anymore as she shoved the black witch off, grimacing. "I-I don't understand why you're so touchy all of a sudden! If you really want to dote on someone that badly, you can just... aren't you and Shizuka-san better friends?"

The ponytailed girl's eyes shot open wide at Yuki glanced at her in thought before looking back at the other girl, raising an eyebrow. "Rika-chan and I... don't know each other as well as you would think, Sayaka-chan... that and you have the better reactions you know, so it's a lot more fun to pick on you rather than her."

_That doesn't change the fact that Shinoya-san knows a lot more about me than other people... _Rika thought to herself, frowning. _It's not fair though... She knows that who it is that I like and she's so lucky... her and Shidoosha-kun. Well, the younger one, anyway... but didn't she say that the two of them weren't dating? But she's always lavishing him with so many fond endearments so I still find that a little hard to believe..._

"Natsu-chan, I just got a gift! Who do you think it's from? I don't recall my birthday being soon..." Tachibana burst in, waving a cute little present around, much to Fukutaki's disbelief. "I think they're cookies... do you want some? You like peanut butter, don't you?"

"Mayumi-chan! What have I told you about accepting gifts from people you don't know? If you keep taking these random gifts graciously, people will get the wrong idea and start pestering you over and over again!"

"Natsu-chan, it's not like this is the first gift I've gotten and besides... they're really sweet love gifts. I have to accept other people's sincerity." Mayumi sighed, folding her arms. "I don't get why you're so overprotective..."

"Because whenever Valentine's Day comes around, too many boys pester you about chocolate! You need to tell them that you're not interesting in them, Mayumi-chan!"

"But Natsu-chan, that's hurtful. I'm plenty interested in them... they're nice people after all..."

"That's not the kind of interest they want and you know it."

_Wow, this seems so familiar if it weren't for the absence of excessive shyness to the point of phobia. I didn't know Tachibana-sempai had that many admirers, or would-be love interests... though Tachibana-sempai is really nice and sweet so I guess it isn't a surprise that many boys find that attractive... she has a pretty face, of course, but Tachibana-sempai, in my opinion, is much, MUCH plainer in comparison to Natsu-sempai... Natsu-sempai has just the right shape!_

Yuki's eyes wandered to the older blond, taking in the shape of her figure. _She has nice legs and her eyes are really pretty too... The only issue with Natsu-sempai is her temper... Gee, that REALLY sounds familiar!_

Moriko grinning and sticking out her tongue in a teasing manner flashed though her mind.

_Now that I think about it... Moriko-chan has her own charm as well, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she's so pretty that guys should just drop to their knees for her... and yet Naoki-kun's utterly convinced that she's a goddess... Akemi-chan has the face of an angel, and a delicate beauty to boot just like a yamato nadeshiko. Her issue is that she wants to cry whenever she gets too much attention... it's like fine china. Pretty, but way too easy to break. I could make fun of her for that. I really could..._

Shinoya chuckled at the thought of how cute the sight of a pouting and defensive Suzuki would be though she soon stopped with her voice stuck in her throat when she imagined Takahashi threatening her with a hoe for bothering the crystal witch.

_Yeah, those two are way out of anyone's league..._

"Shinoya-san, you seem really deep in thought... do you care to share or something? I'm not going to threaten you or anything," Mayumi chirped as the black witch flinched in surprise when the older brunette came close with a bright smile. "Do you have anything you want to say?"

Catching Natsu glaring at her spitefully in the corner of her eye, Yuki quickly shook her head, waving her hands about. "No, no... I-I'm perfectly fine, believe me! Don't worry about it, Tachibana-sempai...!"

_I think everyone is way out of anyone's league, actually... especially Saiki-kun!_

"Actually, I need to go wash my face... Natsu-sempai, dear captain, may I leave?"

"Call me dear like that again and you'll be forced to perform a thousand sit-ups."

"Natsu-chan, that's unnecessary!"

* * *

><p>"I prefer Italian pasta to French cuisine."<p>

"No way, Onpu-chan! France and Italy may both be renowned for their meals, but so is China, you know..." Kurumi chucked, dipping her jellyfish into soy sauce. "Now if in the states... you REALLY have to be careful what you want to eat!"

"Do you really like jellyfish, Kurumi-chan? I was never really fond of it myself so..." Onpu eyed the squishy stuff with a grimace before sighing heavily. "Strange, I thought you would have liked escargot or something..."

"I don't like mollusks dead or alive, why do you think I'd want to eat one? I may love French foods but I'm passing on that and frog legs... Frogs are really cute when they're not those huge bullfrogs you know," Sayoko commented, swirling the jellyfish in the sauce elegantly before taking a refined bite as if she was royalty, awing the purple witch a bit.

_Kurumi-chan certainly has an interesting way of doing things... that much is for sure, at least..._

"I guess..."

"Onpu-onee-sama, Kurumi-chan, why are you two eating lunch so late? It's after school for heaven's sake and this just isn't normal... I'm sure of it!" Yuki exclaimed as she came in, still dressed in archery clothes as the two famous child stars perked up in surprise. "Don't you know how bad it is to have lunch so late? There's no way that it's good for you at all~!"

"Yuki-chan, you're so cute," Kurumi stated as she grinned, earning the black witch to flinch and blush. "Sorry, but I couldn't help it... Usually in that uniform, you're all sweaty and it's a little distasteful, if you get what I mean..."

"Eh? You're so weird, Kurumi-chan..." Shinoya responded softly, squirming a bit before quickly turning to Onpu, beaming widely and brightly as she always did when facing the purple witch. "So~? What's going on, onee-sama? Am I allowed to know?"

"Nothing that's a big deal, of course..." Segawa giggled lightly before offering some of her meal to the black witch. "I got some crepes as a snack... do you want some from me? I don't mind sparing a few..."

"I-I'm going to be blessed by one of my dearly beloved Onpu-onee-sama's favorite desserts? That's just great~!" the blond squealed as she took one of the crepes and took a bite, sighing happily with stars in her eyes. "This is heaven! It's just the most beautiful thing, being able to share food with Onpu-onee-sama as if we're the best of friends!"

"But Yuki-chan, we are the best of friends..."

"You know, you'd probably say similar things about Saiki-kun if he ever lent you his food, right? He's offered me his meal before so..." The memory had the gray witch blush heavily, reaching up to cup her cheeks in surprise. "I-I mean, that just sounds just like the typical thing for Saiki-kun to do so it probably happens often!"

_Though I should probably stop thinking about what it could mean for me when Yuki-chan is the one that needs to win his heart here and not me... Sayoko Kurumi needs to stay strong for her friends, right? I'm not going to surrender to anything... not even my own heart and that's that, right?_

"No... The only person that Saiki-kun's ever really shared food with is Akatsuki-kun... That's all, really." The blond frowned, eyelids lowered as brown orbs turned dull and blank for just a moment. "Saiki-kun and I... have no reason so act so close to each other when we're really not and it's about as simple as that..."

Kurumi perked up when she noticed a temperature drop in the atmosphere as an invisible dark aura surrounded the black witch again as her eyes closed slowly. "We're only working together right now for the sake of taking on Majoaku and that's about it."

"Yuki-chan, that's not true... you and Saiki-kun are a lot closer than you may think..." Onpu began only for the gray witch to completely cut her off.

"Hey, Yuki-chan, what's Majoaku's true story anyway? I mean, you hardly ever talk about her enough as it is so I hardly know anything about her history and her character... This is a great story here... Can't we know our antagonist and main foe just a little bit better so that it can be a lot more interesting...?" Kurumi set down her meal, standing up with a wide beam and not a stray bit of rice or even a smidge of soy sauce on her face, practically oozing her confidence and maturity all over in a way that made the Shinoya girl twitch and die a little on the inside in envy.

_Ooh, that Kurumi-chan! We may be good friends sometimes but most of the time, I can't help but hate her! She's an ideal girl and way too perfect...! I think I liked her best when she had an eating disorder, even if it did make Saiki-kun worried over her... and I hate it when Saiki-kun cares about someone that's not me... which sucks, considering just how much his world revolves around Akatsuki-kun... but they're brothers, so it's fine! I don't have to worry about romantic rivals... other than that Otomiya girl but there's no way that I'm going to lose against her! I'm definitely, DEFINITELY not going to lose against Kurumi-chan either...! That much is for absolute certainly, yes, yes, yes!_

"So, Yuki-chan... what is there to know about Majoaku anyway? So can you tell us?"

"H-Huh? Oh, actually..." Yuki trailed off as she noticed one of the female students walk by from down the hall a she sighed, shaking her head lightly in disdain. "Not here. Someone could be listening in and it would only cause a lot of trouble... I don't know how many lies I can tell if we end up in a really troublesome situation like that..."

"True, even my own acting skills can only get so far..." the gray witch giggled as she turned around and sat back and sighed a bit heavily. "But don't worry... I'm good at keeping secrets anyway."

"You better be, seeing as something bad could happen if someone found out... yeah." Shinoya smiled lightly. "Let's meet up later at the Mahou-Dou, alright? Bye~!"

With that, she turned heel and ran off, earning Onpu and Kurumi to trade slight smiles before the latter faltered a bit, sighing.

_But now that I think about it... I wonder if there are a few secrets about Yuki-chan as well as Majoaku..._

* * *

><p>"The world is filled with sunflowers!"<p>

Moriko twitched just a bit, pausing in watering her irises for just a bit before shaking her head and continuing.

"The world is filled with sunflowers!"

"Please grow up to be beautiful... _Popopi Piopotto Papakiko..._" she sighed lightly, delicately brushing off the flower as it glowed lightly in response to her thoughtlessly cast spell while a smile slipped across the green witch's lips ever so gently. "Now, show the world that..."

"The world in filled with sunflowers!"

"...Yue-chan, will you please shut up?" Takahashi finally snapped at the blue-haired girl who perked up in surprise, turning to her fellow club member with a slight frown on her face. "What do you mean by the world is filled with sunflowers anyway? Because if you mean what I think you mean, I will have to slap you."

"Can you tell me what it means? I mean, I heard it once before and I'm still trying to figure out its meaning, you know?" Tagawa sighed, reaching up to adjust the floral clip in her hair with a sigh. "I still don't get it in all honesty... I wonder if it's because I'm not thinking hard enough about it... Actually, I wonder if Yamura-kun knows anything about it..."

"Hey, Yue-chan..."

"Sunflowers are just so pretty, too... They're bright and yellow and warm... but you don't see them around too often if at all... Isn't that tragic? So is that it? The world's filled with tragedy? Or is it filled with warmth? Nowadays, it's much easier to believe the former rather than the latter... that's sad isn't it? It's like everything is just going downhill and there's no hope for any light while everything else is getting darker and darker..." she continued on, ignoring the other florist as she looked down blankly, shadows casting over her face. "I wonder... if that's just how it's supposed to be... with humans getting more and more unreliable as time goes on..."

"Yue-chan, hold on a minute! Now that's just not right!" Moriko exclaimed as she stomped forward and grabbed the other girl's arm, much to her initial surprise. "You don't decide things like that when you haven't seen the entire world... That's like only appreciating the roots and not even noticing the leaves and petals. It just does no good whatsoever and you ought to know that over all else, Yue-chan... you got that?"

"Huh? O-Oh, I... got it! Cheer up, Takahashi-san! That's exactly what I was getting to anyway! We need to be able to always be cheered up even at times like now, right?" Yue grinned, sliding her arm out of the green witch's grip. "You really need to have better faith in me, yeah? It's a little discomforting if you don't let me finish when I'm in the middle of a speech like that! I was going to pump everyone up, right?"

"What do you mean by that anyway? Man, Yue-chan, you just don't make any sense whatsoever, you know?" Moriko grumbled as she folded her arms only to perk up and instantly beam when Akemi shyly stuck her head in, blushing furiously. "Akemi-chan! Were you waiting for me?"

"I-I... Is this a bad time?" Suzuki asked, avoiding her gaze as she came inside, looking down with a gulp. "I mean, I... I just got a little lonely and I don't mean to be bothering you... I apologize, Moriko-chan... I'm sorry..."

"Nonsense! As Akemi-chan, you don't need a reason to visit me even during club activities! Shouldn't you have dance classes today?" Takahashi laughed as she ran up to her more delicate friend as she reached out and wrapped an arm around the crystal witch's shoulders, nuzzling her cheek. "You're not skipping just to visit me, right? Won't that be a tempting thought though?"

"I-I... My teacher is sick today so I can't go... but Hazuki-chan left because Bayaa-san needed her for some mysterious thing... I-I... I actually wanted to walk home with Moriko-chan today so I came so I could ask and... um... that's not a problem, is it?"

"Why would it be? Sure thing...! I'll tell Kasumi-san to drive us both home! My house is a long ways away so I can't really walk and yours is far away too... can't risk having some creep take an interest in you and kidnap you when you're all alone, right?" The green witch winked at her, grinning. "Don't worry, Akemi-chan. I'll protect you for sure."

_These two are as close as Shirano-san and Ayahara-san... I wonder if their families work really close together too... I mean, I know Takahashi-san's father works in an office so maybe Suzuki-san's father does the same job in the same place and they're buddies? I guess that would make sense... especially if they go drinking together..._

Yue turned back to the window, staring up at the sun as she sighed lightly while Akemi and Moriko continued talking, with the latter laughing loudly while the former still looked like a frightened rabbit.

It was all just so typical.

* * *

><p>When it was finally time to get to the Mahou-Dou... well, needless to say, Yuki was pretty surprised that she was the first one to get there for once... even before Majorika had even gotten there.<p>

"...This is all just so new to me... being early, that is... So... uh... what now?" Shinoya looked about in confusion, frowning deeply. "I mean, there has to be at least something to do up until Majorika comes up and unlocks the freaking door..."

Maybe she could poof up a tennis ball and play wall ball with one of the Mahou-Dou walls? No, she could knock down herbs or even break one of Moriko's vases and not even the sweet sugary heavens will be able to save her from the brutal fate of the green witch apprentice shoving rose thorns down her throat and then beating her with a hoe.

And hoes were better weapons than sickles... but hey, at least it wasn't a shovel! Those things were just scary when wielded by the pigtailed florist.

Maybe she could draw drawings in the dirt with a stick? Minus that she had zero artistic talent on paper (despite being a professional now in embroidery) and couldn't draw happy stick figures much less Saiki in said dirt. Because she'd totally draw Saiki if she could... why not?

But she couldn't draw and that was the point.

"I'd totally beat that door down if it wouldn't get us into debt," Yuki groaned as she walked up to said door and placed her hand against the painted wood (a nice job done by Hazuki, mind you), leaning against it with a heavy sigh. "I wonder what I can even do other than wait... maybe I can just think..."

_Like... telling everyone about Majoaku... in reality there's only one thing that I do know about Majoaku that everyone else doesn't know... and I don't want to tell them all that little bit of information about me just yet... like how Majoaku is simply my..._

"Why, Yuki, are you actually here early?"

The black witch flinched and jumped from the day, seeing a surprised Majorika along with Lala in cat form beside her, blinking up curiously at the blond with amethyst eyes.

"Yuki-chan, it's good to see you..."

"Oh, uh... same here, Lala..." Shinoya responded, blushing a bit as she made way for her current witch tutor as the green-haired old witch unlocked the door and pulled it open, gesturing the younger girl inside. "R-Right..."

"This is... a little unlike you, Yuki. What's the occasion?"

"I wanted to get a few things ready to give my friends once they got here... I wanted to work on them at the Mahou-Dou so I can here not realizing that you usually didn't get here until around... whatever time that it is right now... Please excuse me..."

"You're excused if you came early to work more often, you know."

"Hau, don't get you hopes up... I'm going to my working room, alright? Tell the other girls that I'm already here so they don't all assume I'm running late again," Yuki smiled back as she headed into the over room, earning the old witch to just sigh heavily.

"I still don't understand that girl..."

* * *

><p>"Alright... now to screw this in..." Shinoya brushed some of her blond hair back as she handled the device, installing the gears as she puckered her lips in focus. "Should I add a camera function? But then again, that would only be creating more work for myself and that's really the last thing that I need, certainly..."<p>

_I wonder... where exactly am I going with this...?_

"Here's my majoshikon," she continued, pulling out the musical note gem and holding it over the device, taking a deep breath. "Alright, alright..."

Now to put in the personal special touch that I'm definitely going to need...

"_Pururunu pikapikan chanchii... Powers of twilight, hear my plea... The powers to sense darkness I summon thee and I'm sick of rhyming. Just do it, dang it."_

Her majoshikon glowed, along with the device and its nine other counterparts as the blond smile lightly and sadly. "Yes, that's it... At least Saiki-kun helped me with the difficult parts but that doesn't matter now... I'm finally done! I just need to put the backs on all of these and I'll finally be complete! All my hard work that I completely wasted on dolls when I should have been working on this...! Finally!"

She threw her hands up in the air, laughing. "I can't believe I managed to do it... I still can't believe I managed to do something completely useful without getting distracted the entire day! Procrastination, I have finally won this battle and someday, I will win this stupid war whether you want me to or not~!"

"Yuki~! Hana-chan's here~!" Hana exclaimed as she burst through the doors, wrapping her arms around the older blond in delight. "Hana-chan's so happy that Hana-chan doesn't have to wait for Yuki~! It's just great and wonderful and great and amazing~!"

_...Am I really late that often...? Sheesh, no wonder Saiki-kun's so resilient when it comes to me wanting to walk home with him... then again, that sure as heck doesn't mean that I'm going to stop pestering him about that anytime soon..._

"Hey, what are these, Yuki? Gifts?" Makihatayama chimed as she picked up one of the devices, staring at it curiously, noting the white paint and the rather peculiar shape that seemed vaguely familiar... "Ooh! Kurumi used one of these before to call her papa!"

_Well, I wouldn't call Yamasaki-san a father... despite technically being that, he's more of an older sibling than anything else... And Kurumi-chan doesn't even call him papa, though it would definitely be really weird if she did, considering how young he is... People who don't know him or Kurumi-chan would get the wrong idea..._ Yuki nearly blanched at the thought. _I'd hate to see such a nice guy have to go through of all that...! That much is definitely certain!_

"They're called cellophane, right?" the white witch asked, caramel eyes sparkling. "Kurumi always talked about them in French, I think, and that's what she called them..."

_Just because Kurumi-chan speaks gracious French, that doesn't mean every foreign word that comes out of her mouth is going to be French, Hana-chan! She's capable of speaking several other languages you know... What about all those Italian dishes that she taught me about? Like you know, dishes like tiramisu and Regal Torino?_ (**1**)

The black witch soon groaned, much to the Majokai princess's confusion.

_Actually... that sounds good right about now..._

"Yuki?"

"Oh sorry... I was just thinking. It's for you anyway... I wanted to give it to Doremi-chan and the others right away but I kind of ended up a little... procrastinated..." Yuki smiled brightly as Makihatayama's eyes lit up happily and she squealed, hugging the older blond tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Yuki! Hana-chan's going to go show off right now and right away! Thanks!" Shinoya grinned but that smile fell off her face as soon as the white witch affectionately and graciously pecked her cheek in a hauntingly similar fashion to that of how Kurumi liked to kiss both of her cheeks whenever she felt like being a bit affectionate. She sat there in awe and silence as Hana skipped out then, shutting the door behind her.

The snow-named girl finally blinked twice and raised her hand up to her cheek, brushing her fingers against it tenderly as she sighed lightly, shaking her head.

_I think... Hana-chan is starting to take after all of us just a little too much..._

_(Eyecatch: The Ojamajos all give each other a high five and it passes on until Yuki misses one hand, earning her to perk up in surprise. The Ojamajo that's revealed to have missed her high five is a surprised looking Doremi who rubs at the back of her neck in slight embarrassment.)_

"Did you seriously design all of these devices yourself, mon ami?" Kurumi twisted the phone around, admiring the silvery color with cute numbered buttons that also had other Ojamajos' chibi faces printed on each one for speed dial. "Aw, it's so cute! I knew you could sew, but you're also a pretty amazing inventor, too!"

"I had a lot of help... I just got the instructions to make them and applied them to the, er, process..." Yuki blushed as she held her own phone close. "T-They're mysterious, no, magical cell phones, and that would be a fushigi keitai denwa in Japanese... I personally call them just fushin for short..."

"A fushin call, huh? This brings back memories..." Doremi observed before turning back to Yuki. "Do they work like those and Patraine calls?"

"Well, we call each other with these buttons, right? There are several voice actions you can do and they also serve as not only radars, but they also actually pinpoint an aku majoshikons location if one were to activate... It's meant to help out our mission, assist saving the world, and giving me a choice of nine people to contact whenever I'm really bored!" Shinoya laughed. "But actually, it's unimportant for the moment... Joou-sama wanted us to meet someone that apparently knew Majoaku well..."

_At least... someone that could teach them about Majoaku so that I wouldn't have to and end up spilling information that I would much rather keep to myself..._

"Who?" Hazuki asked, adjusting her glasses as the black witch merely grinned.

"You'll see, Hazuki-chan."

* * *

><p>"So, Yuki-chan... remind us again why ya couldn't jus' tell us all this yerself?" Aiko wondered as the black witch flinched, all of them flying with the directions Yuki had relayed to them earlier and...<p>

Shoot, all of them already had a bad feeling about this since Shinoya Yuki and directions tended to explode into a plain destructive dish with a just plain _wonderful _hysteria of confusion whenever mixed together.

"I-I'm a little nervous... I mean... Majoaku was a normal witch before she was corrupted by dark magic, right? W-Was she a nice person or what? I-I hope that she was..." Akemi stammered, blushing incredibly as Onpu patted her shoulder.

"Don't hyperventilate for any reason whatsoever, Akemi-chan... Or at least, try to not pass out while in the midst of flight, alright? Are you okay?"

"I-I'll survive... I've been through worse..."

_Broken ankle, broken glass in my ballet shoes, sprained wrists... Nii-san always begged me to not overdo myself but it's really nothing if I can't improve my dancing no matter what happens to me... A dancer's only tool, only 'weapon', is her grace... If she can't retain her grace and poise at all times, then she's not a dancer... I need to remember that!_

"Is that the house over there?" Momoko asked aloud as the Ojamajos neared a rather quaint little cottage, landing in front of it. Moriko observed the house for just a minute before turning to the garden and gasping softly, dropping to her knees in front of it.

"They're so finely nurtured! This is expertise gardening skills right here... I think I'm going to love whoever lives here for whatever reason!" the green witch exclaimed happily, clapping her hands cheerfully. "This is just so great! The fragrance, the flowers, and the green of the leaves... it's just such a beautiful sight without a doubt... I want to congratulate whoever lives here for sure... I definitely want to congratulate this person no matter who they may be... I want to congratulate them..."

_This girl is just unbelievable..._ the rest of them thought, sweating in exasperation as Akemi sighed sadly and took it upon herself (as always) to go pull her best friend away from smothering the flowers as she was prone to.

"Come on, Moriko-chan, we have more important matters to tend to right now, right?" Suzuki asked in her usual soft voice, earning Takahashi to just perk up as she tugged delicately on the pigtailed female's arm with a barely audible groan. "We're here to learn about Majoaku, aren't we? W-We... W-We aren't, I-I think, supposed to get distracted right now so..."

Moriko blinked once in confusion before just frowning rather aloofly, eyes narrowing.

"Akemi-chan, be reasonable. You're not supposed to ever..."

And then the door opened and both the girls screamed, scrambling away and holding each other close as they shivered. "W-What and... W-Who was that just now?"

"I don't appreciate random visitors out of nowhere!" the witch exclaimed as she walked onto the front porch, clearly scowling with her arms crossed. She was very stern in appearance, too, with harsh green eyes that were like freshly cut emeralds and clean teal hair in a tight and refined bun at the back of her head. "If you're going to visit, state your reason and..."

Then her gaze drifted towards Akemi and Moriko and she froze, pausing immediately as her eyes widened in pure surprise before she chuckled.

"Oh... my... It's been a while."

Suzuki and Takahashi were absolutely baffled as they recognized her only from the leaf brooch around her neck. Granted, the last time they saw this woman, she was a little frog in the florist's old watering can that waved sadly from the window as they sniffled, packed their bags, and moved away.

"Majomichi!" the two girls gasped at the same time as Majomichi's smile widened.

"I never thought I'd see you as cowardly as Akemi, Moriko."

"G-Give me a break, I was just comforting Akemi-chan and... WOW, MAJOMICHI!" the green witch exclaimed as she tackled the witch into a tight hug, the crystal witch joining, so relieved that she was actually crying. "And you got your body back too! I didn't think that the curse on the witch frogs really HAD lifted...!"

"Yes, no thanks to you two... leaving without a second trace and still keeping a hold of your magic! How did you even manage to cast spells without me providing for you both?" the teal witch wondered, patting both of her former apprentices on their heads in a fond grandmotherly manner. "I was so worried about you both..."

"Hey, Joou-sama kept contact with us, rarely... and we were able to obtain enough magic to last at least a few years... we planned on coming back anyway." The florist laughed, holding onto her former tutor tightly. "We're just glad that we can manage to become actual witch apprentices once again, right?"

"Yes... that's good... and Akemi, I suppose you're still as meek and timid as you always were?"

"I-I'm getting better, actually... Moriko-chan and all my other new friends have been helping me out a little at a time and it's really made the difference, I suppose... I'm just happy that I get to see you again, Majomichi." Akemi's smile was trembling, tears still welling up all over again in her big sapphire eyes, much to Majomichi's dismay.

"Oh you never change."

"Um... it's not that I want to interrupt a sweet reunion of heartwarming or anything, but you are Majomichi-san, right?" Yuki stepped in, confused as Majomichi perked up in surprise. "I'm the purifier Shinoya Yuki... Joou-sama said that if there was anyone that knew the witch Majoaku used to be, it was you who I should ask."

"Oh... Ruriko... Yes, I do know... but..." The teal witch pursed her lips at the sight of the black witch, eyes squinting. "Shinoya, was it? Are you supposed to...?"

"Hey, look, we look alike!" Kurumi exclaimed, skipping up to beside the slightly younger girl to wrap an arm around her shoulders with a laugh. "Well, it's coincidental so there's nothing to worry about. I'm Sayoko Kurumi by the way."

"...Coincidental...?"

"Oh yes, Majomichi, these are the other purifiers that are joining us on this light crusade or whatever it is that you want to call it," Moriko stated, gesturing to the other girls. "They're Harukaze Doremi, Fujiwara Hazuki, Senoo Aiko, Segawa Onpu, Asuka Momoko, and... well..."

"Hana-chan da yo!" Hana chirped cheerfully. "Hana-chan's going to be the future queen of the Majokai, you know~!"

"Oh yes, I've heard of you... So it's coincidence that Shinoya..."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Come inside. I'll tell you all that I can about Majoaku when she wasn't Majoaku... when she was... Majoruri."

* * *

><p>"<em>Majomichi~!" an excited voice squealed out as a young witch sprinted out with short black hair and with bright navy blue eyes and a matching uniform with the same color as those same happy orbs. "I managed to pass my test and do really well! How's that for amazing or what? Even Majoheart-san thinks that I've really improved!"<em>

_Majomichi, younger now but still much more experienced and more mature than the young lady in front of her only sighed. "Ruriko, you shouldn't get so pumped even though you have much to learn..."_

"_That's Majoruri, to you...! At least when I began as a fully registered witch by Joou-sama," Ruriko stated, spinning around cheerfully. "And no need to worry! I'll be fine... I have much going on for me you know and there's no way that I'm just going to lose so easily!"_

_And with that, her black curls twitched and Majomichi felt her frown twitch ever so slightly into a smile, confusing Ruriko just a bit._

"_Hey, what's up?"_

"_It's nothing, Ruriko."_

* * *

><p>"Ruriko, when growing up, was one of the cheeriest and most idiotic people that I knew. But she worked hard and many other witches admired that..." Majomichi coughed as she leaned back in her seat, frown deepening. "She was so sweet and endearing... It was almost impossible to hate her or to even be annoyed with her for too long..."<p>

"That sounds... familiar," Doremi admitted as she stole a glance towards Yuki, surprising the black witch as she quickly turned back to the old witch.

"S-So her name was Majoruri huh? That's such a pretty name, Ruriko is, I mean... I don't think it fits the current Majoaku at all..."

"Nothing changes the fact that Ruriko, before all that, was still a fairly sweet and tender-hearted one. Granted, she got lost easily and screwed up more than others, sometimes on a nuclear level... but she always tried afterwards... always..." Majomichi turned wistful. "Everything went so wrong without any warning... if someone told me now that this is what would have happened to Ruriko eventually, I would have denied it to the very end..."

"Were you friends?" Akemi wondered, sapphire eyes glimmering in the dimness of the house. Her old tutor merely shrugged.

"I was more of her surrogate sister than anything else... The witch who took care of her took care of me as well as when Ruriko was old enough to leave, the duty of watching over her fell on me. I didn't mind too much... She solved her problems as much as she created them so there wasn't much to worry about." Majomichi sighed heavily, brushing some of her teal strands behind her ear. "That's pretty much how it always was, until..."

* * *

><p>"<em>Majomichi~! Question, question! Why is it that we can travel into the Human World but not the Mahoutsukaikai? Aren't there magic users there just like us?"<em>

"_You're still too naïve, Ruriko. Don't you remember any of the things you're taught in Majokai history?"_

"_Something about a game with land bets... But I still don't understand why the doors aren't open... after all, in the Human World, men and women get along just fine so why doesn't that work with magic users also? Is it because the whole Mahoukai's not big enough?" Majoruri pondered this over childishly, though she was definitely an adult now, much to Majomichi's dismay. "I want to see the Mahoutsukaikai, Majomichi. I think it would be as beautiful as the Majokai..."_

"_It's not. It's unfertile and not a safe living environment in the slightest."_

"_What? Why? But other people are living there too and the Majokai's big enough, isn't it? Why can't we all live together? The Mahoutsukaikai needs to survive too...! We have to take care of our environment..."_

"_Ruriko, it's never that easy. Not to mention we have a lot to worry about right now ourselves that we can't ponder about others... The wizards should be able to take care of themselves." Majomichi brushed the younger witch off, much to Ruriko's dismay. "Now, you need to go get a few things, alright? We're heading off to the Human World soon so we need to be prepared."_

"_But it's still so unfair... Can I talk to the queen about this?"_

"_Ruriko, drop it."_

"_...Fine..."_

* * *

><p>"She didn't listen to me, of course... She was Ruriko, so I didn't understand why I expected any different otherwise back then since... well... she was always just the way that she was without fail."<p>

Majomichi smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, I wasn't with her for those times, but she told me all about it... She went into the Mahoutsukaikai herself to investigate just how bad their living conditions were so that she could 'use' it as evidence to the queen as proof of needing to help them. Headstrong and true, but foolish all the same in being unable to understand how the real world really works..."

"Normally you see things like this happen the other way around, but I can't believe Majoruri-san would want such a thing before..." Hazuki trailed off, sighing. "She sounded really sweet, but the Mahoutsukaikai wasn't restored to its former beauty until we rescued Hana-chan from it and talked to the King of the place... so something went wrong, right?"

"There was a young wizard she met there named Kojiro."

Doremi blinked twice before her eyes instantly widened in surprise as she recognized the name. _Wait a minute..._

"_Different people? Don't wizard babies work the same way as witch babies? I mean, if someone sees one born, then that... um..."_

"_That's how it's supposed to work. Ojijide-san wasn't always the only one that worked for my father... There was another advisor and messenger that Papa was fond of..." Akatsuki fiddled with one of the long strands of grass, frowning at the memory. "Kojiro-san... He's the one that cared for Saiki-kun while Ojijide-san took care of me. He's not around anymore, but that's the reason why."_

"_Not... around anymore. I-I'm so sorry, I know what it's like to lose a friend, but..." Harukaze fell silent, shaking her head quickly. "I could never imagine losing my otou-san or my okaa-san."_

"_Kojiro-san was a good man. Saiki-kun adored him... in fact, Kojiro-san was probably closer to a father than our own Papa, but no one really complained. It wasn't until after that Saiki-kun became so careless with the truth. Though there are some things that even he doesn't talk about anymore..." The older prince paused, approaching her and in one swift movement, taking her chin delicately. "Hey Doremi-chan, you won't tell anyone else about this, right? I'm only saying this so that you'll understand but I'm not just going to go and spill all my baby brother's secrets. Saiki-kun will have to tell you everything on his own."_

"_D-Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." The pink witch agreed, gasping a bit as her heart pounded at the contact. "I-I... I promise and you have my word, Akatsuki-kun."_

_Akatsuki smiled a bit though his eyes narrowed in slight doubt. "Not even Yuki-chan?"_

"_N-Not even Yuki-chan!"_

"_Thank you."_

"...Kojiro?" Doremi repeated again, blinking wide and owlishly. "Wait... isn't he..."

_No, Akatsuki-kun said to always keep the fact that I know who he is a secret... I wonder... is this why? If he was the one who met Majoruri-san before she became Majoaku... does that mean that he has something to do with it as well? Or...?_

"W-Wait, I didn't hear too much about Kojiro-san!" Yuki burst out, much to everyone else's surprise. "Isn't there more to him than the fact that they met?"

"Well, they might have... fallen in love... despite how much I warned Ruriko against it..." Majomichi took a deep breath as she twiddled her thumbs. "There's much more to it, but listen... dark energy has always existed somewhere in some place... The energy that manifested from the former queen's misery in losing her family... that was dark energy. The dark energy that infected Ruriko was more than that. It was attracted to the energy and it affected both her and Kojiro-san..."

"...What happened to Kojiro-san?" Hana asked, almost afraid to wonder.

Harukaze didn't have to look up and see Majomichi's grim expression to understand it; Akatsuki's words rang as a reminder instead in her ear, loud and clear.

"_He's not around anymore."_

"I..." Shinoya looked down sadly, sighing. "I see. So that's it. To think, Majoaku... er... Majoruri's story of evil really isn't so evil... but I guess that I shouldn't be surprised at all by it..."

_Actually... now that I know about Kojiro-san... it answers a few of my questions... If she and Kojiro-san were really a couple and anything like normal human couples... it should be obvious of a few possibilities..._

"There's more to it, surely... but I suppose it's all for another time and it is getting late... don't you girls have somewhere else to be?"

"Yes, we ought to be getting back..." Doremi started shakily as she stood up with the rest of the girls, dusting herself off. "Um, thank you for the stories, Majomichi-san. Best wishes."

"Best wishes and best of luck... but please, as for Majoruri... Ruriko, I... Please help her. She's a sweet girl, really. She wouldn't be evil like this if she had a choice... if you ever face off against her in person, please purify the dark energy in her heart so that she reverts back to the way she was before."

"Don't worry, Majomichi, this is a promise from your former students and their friends!" Moriko exclaimed with a wink. "Akemi-chan and I will do our best! Right, Akemi-chan?"

"O-Oh yes! Definitely! Y-Y-You can count on us!"

Majomichi smiled sadly. "Please. Please help Ruriko."

The Ojamajos all looked amongst one another before grinning and nodding.

"We will."

* * *

><p>"Hey Momo-chan, what are the aku majoshikons like anyway? You're the one who saw one first along with Yuki-chan... you two didn't get hurt, right?"<p>

"No, but... it was scary. I was just so worried about Akari-chan that I didn't pay as much attention as I should have and I didn't understand why there were things about her that I didn't know... it was almost as if she had..."

"People with weak hearts," Yuki stated aloud, grabbing both Doremi and Momoko's attention. "Those types of people attract aku majoshikons the best and for that reason, we best be careful if we were to ever come across such a situation. After all, we're supposed to understand our friends... though there are times where humans are really weak because of the burden of a secret that they can't bear to share on their shoulders..."

"Is that so?" Aiko asked, folding her arms with a huff. "Well shoot, we may have our work cut out for us."

"It would be boring if there wasn't a challenge... but the fact that even our friends and fellow students are all at risks... we need to work hard if we want to be able to purify enough aku majoshikons in order to reach Majoaku... Majoruri-san, that is," Onpu smiled sadly. "It's so sad... She could have been with Kojiro-san and the two of them could have had a family... but the dark energy ruined all that..."

"A family... She could have had a child..." Shinoya hummed. "I wonder how that child would have grown up if none of this happened..."

"That's a strange thing to wonder about, Yuki-chan," Moriko stated with a laugh. "But I bet the kid would have had a happy life with two loving parents like every child deserves."

The black witch's fists clenched as they continued talking, staring out the large heart-shaped window of the back of the Mahou-Dou. "If that's how things are really supposed to work... I guess I should long for something like that..."

_Because actually, what I do know... Majoruri did have one child before all this happened..._

"Yuki-chan, what are you doing all the way back there and not doing a single thing?" Kurumi asked aloud as she took the blonde's arm with a wide smile. "Come on, get involved! We're all friends here aren't we? You need to be more careful, mon ami."

"Careful, Kurumi-chan? How so?"

"Eh? Isn't it obvious already? My, my, you're just so naïve that it's adorable..."

Yuki almost scowled but she stopped at a grimace before shaking her head and smiling a bit sadly. "Um... Kurumi-chan, are you curious about what kind of person Kojiro-san was? I mean, Majomichi-san said that she knew who he was but she didn't know him personally... and I honestly doubt that dirty old man Oyajide-baka-san would know him well..."

Doremi perked up.

_Kojiro-san, according to Akatsuki-kun, is the person that took care of Saiki-kun... although I didn't really understand why as much as I should have... I did get that he was a good man that the king, and even Saiki-kun himself was fond of... he would have been a wonderful father if that were the case and it's a shame... Saiki-kun's so cold and distant now, if he hadn't lost Kojiro-san, I bet that he would accept Yuki-chan a lot more easily... In fact, the two would probably be a couple right now if that were the case. He could have turned out like Akatsuki-kun is too... polite and warm... B-But I would still like Akatsuki-kun best of course! I wouldn't fall for Saiki-kun if he was even slightly like him and even if they do look a lot alike! There's just no way..._

The pink witch blushed at the thought, coughing.

_Though... I would mistake him for Akatsuki-kun a lot easier if that were the case... How sad... I wonder if it's my own fault that Akatsuki-kun really isn't interested in me in the slightest... as a girl... we're still friends, yes... but it would just be so nice if we were a lot more than that..._

"We could go to the Mahoutsukaikai to learn more about him... Hey wait a minute!" Hazuki exclaimed, eyes wide. "If he was a wizard... wouldn't the FLATS 5 know something about him?"

"That's right! Fujio-kun would definitely know something...!" Akemi blushed heavily at the thought of the orange-haired wizard, heart already pounding with a strange sort of happiness. "W-We... We could ask them later... if we ever have the time..."

"WHOO-HOO, A CHANCE TO SEE TOORU-KUN HERE I COME! I'm looking forward to this, most definitely!" Moriko exclaimed spiritedly, pumping her fist. "I'm definitely going to win him over this go around, for sure!"

"...Yeah... good luck with that..." Onpu muttered, still feeling a drop in her stomach. "Oh, Moriko-chan..."

Yuki giggled lightly. "That means I'll see Saiki-kun... but I don't want to trouble him..."

"Hana-chan wants to play with Oyajide!"

"Hana-chan, you need to be careful... Oyajide-san's an old man with back problems after all..."

The black witch soon sighed.

_Actually, that child Majoaku had that no one else really knows about, including you all really, everyone... That's me._

_-Until Next Time-_

_Mado no soto wa yotei tojikometa ame_

_(Outside the windows, it's the rain that blocked my plans)_

(Footage: It's seen to be raining outside as Yuki is shown to be watching with a sad look on her face as she sighs, looking down at where she's holding a note with an ai-ai gasa of both hers and Saiki's names.)

"_Kyou wa gomen, to ka omou nara mukae ni kite"_

_("If you're sorry about today, come get me,")_

(Footage: Yuki frowns only for Doremi to tap her shoulder, making her turn around and receive a white rain poncho, earning her to blink in confusion. Doremi merely grins and winks.)

_Iitai kedo dame da..._

_(I want to say, but it's no use...)_

(Footage: Shinoya looks at her poncho again and soon beams up happily.)

_Hoshi ni negatta sono yume wa_

_(Though the dreams wished upon a star)_

(Footage: Hana jumps happily into a puddle while the other girls run after her, all decked in ponchos of their trademark color save for Yuki wearing the white one Doremi had given her.)

_Hitotsu hitotsuzutsu kanau no ni_

_(They all came true one by one)_

(Footage: Moriko stops to admire the flowers just as Akemi grabs her arm and Hazuki wipes off her glasses only to make them more blurry while Aiko laughs good-naturedly.)

_Anata ni chitto mo oitsukenai_

_(You're the one I couldn't catch up to at all)_

(Footage: Onpu and Kurumi look up with bright grins just as Momoko joins, all of them soon just laughing.)

_Hoshi ni negatta sono yume wa_

_(Though the dreams wished upon a star)_

(Footage: Poppu jumps onto Hana's back and the white witch gives her a piggy back ride while Doremi follows after the two protesting rather loudly. Yuki giggles at the sight.)

_Hitotsu hitotsuzutsu kanau nara_

_(They all came true one by one)_

(Footage: Rain continues falling down into the puddle while the black witch stands there beaming, chuckling a bit more only to suddenly fall backwards into a mud puddle.)

_Anata ni mottomo chikazukitai_

_(You're the one I want to get the closest to)_

(Footage: Yuki winces and frowns sadly, pouting as she shuts her eyes and sniffles until a hand is offered to her, and she perks up, looks up and smiles brightly and happily, eyes sparkling in complete relief.)

Next time on Ojamajo Doremi Tomo-DACHI:

_Yuki: Doremi-chan, your sister is JUST SO CUTE~! Even her little friend Makoto-kun is really, really cute!_

_Hazuki: That's right, Doremi-chan... why don't you ask Joou-sama if Poppu-chan can be a witch apprentice again as well?_

_Aiko: That would be fair..._

_Hana: Hana-chan wants to play with Poppu lots, too!_

_Moriko: You have a little sister, Doremi-chan? Given, I knew that... but still..._

_Doremi: Ah... I should make time into that..._

_Akemi: Is she a purifier too?_

_Doremi: WHAT? No way, it's too dangerous!_

_Momoko: But if she becomes a witch apprentice... I wonder if she can also..._

_Onpu: How interesting!_

_Kurumi: Oh really?_

_Poppu: ONEE-CHAN! Let me be a purifier too!_

_Doremi: I can't do that, Poppu! You know that I can't!_

_Yuki: Really? I think it's perfectly fine...!_

_Kurumi: Of course you do, ma chérie._

_Doremi: Next time on Ojamajo Doremi Tomo-DACHI!_

_Yuki: Another mystery! "Little Purifier, Stay So Strong!"! And remember, friendship comes before everything and always treasure it!_

_Kurumi: If you want to rely on your friends, you have to be reliable too, right?_

* * *

><p>(1) Oh Micky, you dork... Regal Torino is not a dish, it's a famous candy. She must have gotten confused from the 'regal' in its title... Royal candy... Then again, thinking of it that way, it probably would make a little more sense if it was a cake.<p> 


End file.
